Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger downplayed a fellow Democrat’s text-message scandal, calling it a "poor choice" in a new interview.

In 2022, Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones texted a colleague that he wished violence against former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. The private messages sparked outrage from Republicans and unease among Democrats, forcing Spanberger to navigate one of the most volatile moments of her campaign.

While some Democrats have called on Jones to drop out of the race, others — including Spanberger — appear to be standing by him. As of last week, Spanberger’s campaign website still featured merchandise endorsing Jones’ candidacy.

 Spanberger was still selling merchandise in her campaign store endorsing Jones’ bid for office last week.

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Spanberger was interviewed on Monday by WTVR CBS 6 host Bill Fitzgerald, who asked her directly about the controversy and its aftermath.

"So there’s been a bit of a distraction, as you’re well aware," Fitzgerald said. "Last week there was a debate among the attorney general candidates. Were you satisfied with the Democratic candidate, Jay Jones’ apology for the texts that he had sent that were seemingly threatening the life of then-House Speaker [Gilbert]?"

"Well, I want to begin by, first, you know, condemning clearly the texts that he sent to a colleague. And I condemned them as soon as I learned of them and, you know, called on Jay Jones to publicly explain himself," Spanberger replied. "And I think that he’s been quite clear in his apologies and in his taking ownership of that poor choice."

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She then pivoted to highlight the recent Virginia attorney general debate, praising its importance for voters.

"You know, importantly, at this point, we’ve got hundreds of thousands of Virginians who have voted. Certainly, I think that debate was an important one for being able to show the contrast in the difference between two different approaches for voters, [to] make a clear decision as they vote early or on Election Day for who will best defend them or work for them as attorney general."

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The wife of Super Bowl champion wide receiver Phillip Dorsett received a crash course into just how taxing being a professional athlete could be.

Dorsett was a first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2015, but he didn’t play with them for too long. The wide receiver’s career took him to eight teams, including two separate stints with the Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders, of which he’s a member of the practice squad now.

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Moriah Dorsett, his wife, opened up to People about moving around the NFL with her husband. She said that while the moves were tough, she was able to experience cities she never would have dreamed of living in.

"I like to consider myself a professional mover at this point now," she told the outlet. "The first time when we moved from Indy to New England, the team had handled it for us. And then after that, all the other moves, that was all me trying to get everything together."

Moriah Dorsett said she gets a lot of help from his parents when moving. But now, she waits a bit before she decides to move.

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"Once he gets on a team, I wait and see how the season is going to go, how he's feeling, and then usually we'll make the move and come down a little bit later," she added. "Because the last time we were here in Vegas, we moved, we got settled in, and then literally five days before the season started, he got traded to the Denver Broncos."

Phillip Dorsett is still looking to make the main roster with the Raiders. He hasn’t seen a regular-season game since the 2023 season.

He has 151 catches for 2,001 yards and 12 touchdowns in 94 career games. He won a Super Bowl title with the New England Patriots in 2018.

He’s played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos. He’s also spent time with the Atlanta Falcons.

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