The Virginia governor’s race is about issues within the Old Dominion state and not about President Donald Trump, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Appearing on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America,” Wittman pushed back on the narrative that the contest is a referendum on the president and argued that local concerns and turnout will decide Tuesday’s results.
“I would agree this is typical of Virginia races as they occur in an off cycle,” Wittman told co-hosts Marc Lotter and Sharla McBride.
“Really, it’s about issues in Virginia. And listen, I believe it will be a lot closer than what people think.”
The congressman cautioned viewers not to discount the influence of localized issues, from crime and school policy to the economic concerns of everyday Virginians, which he said resonate more strongly with voters than national culture-war headlines.
“I believe it will be a lot closer than even what the polls indicate,” Wittman said. “It will be driven by turnout.
“There’s a lot of effort to make sure that voters turn out.”
Wittman acknowledged recent polls showing Democrat Abigail Spanberger widening her lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears but stressed that those numbers don’t capture the reality on the ground.
“I know a lot [about] this race,” he said, warning that turnout, especially in down-ballot House of Delegates contests and the crucial attorney general and lieutenant governor races, will determine the outcome.
“It’s not just the governor’s race, but issues surrounding the attorney general’s race that I think will permeate to the governor’s race, as well as the lieutenant governor’s race.”
On the attorney general’s race, Wittman delivered a stern critique of Democrat nominee Jay Jones after inflammatory comments attributed to him surfaced during the campaign.
Jones apologized for widely condemned text messages from 2022 in which he suggested that a prominent Republican get “two bullets to the head.”
“He wishes harm on his political opponents,” Wittman said, recounting the disturbing language reported in Jones’ messages.
“Those words are absolutely unacceptable. They are disqualifying.”
The congressman said Virginians should consider whether someone who apparently advocated violence or celebrated harm toward opponents is fit to serve as the commonwealth’s top law enforcement officer.
Wittman framed Jones’ controversy as evidence of a larger problem within the Democratic Party.
“It tells me that they’re moving farther and farther to the left,” he said. “If you are not willing to say that this is disqualifying … one of those jobs is to protect children.
“And yet he wants to see the children of a political opponent die in the arms of their mother. To me, that’s completely disqualifying.”
Wittman’s remarks underscore a Republican argument heading into the final hours of campaigning: that Democrats’ internal divisions and extreme rhetoric have created real vulnerabilities.
That’s where conservative candidates who focus on public safety, fiscal responsibility, and parental rights can make gains even in a state where Democrats have had recent successes.
As Virginians head to the polls, Wittman urged voters to weigh the substance of the choices before them and to hold candidates accountable for rhetoric that threatens civic decency.
“You cannot reward that sort of behavior,” he said of Jones’ comments. “You’re going to be held accountable based upon those horrible and barbaric words that he expressed.”
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