Voters in Winchester, Virginia are divided on candidates amid the Jones scandal

Winchester, Virginia – What was once the most controversial city in the Confederacy is once again divided — this time over the merits of the candidates in the upcoming election. Virginia elections.

Although there were no longer frequent bloody battles along the “Valley Road” (now US-11) through Winchester, residents of the city in Virginia’s northwest corner — the region’s fall apple capital and also home to GOP gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earl Sears — offered competing views on the issues dominating the race.

Fox News Digital spoke with several Winchester, Virginia area residents along the Loudoun Street corridor, a pedestrian-only portion of the historic city’s central street that includes several shops, restaurants and a Civil War Museum.

Of the murder texts scandal surrounding Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones, Kevin Callinan of nearby Stevens said “no normal person” would say what Jones said about then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah.

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“It was really terrible,” he said of him. Jones’ conversation refers to killing Gilbert And seeing the damage being done to what Democrats described as “little fascists” Republicans.

“He should have had the dignity to just say, ‘I’m resigning,'” Callinan said. “I said that. It was terrible to say that. Even if it was a joke, it was terrible and I should have left.”

Nancy of Winchester, Virginia, said that Jones “went too far” and that Earl Sears was the best candidate to lead Virginia in light of Spanberger’s response to the controversy.

J.C. Moore of Perryville, Virginia, a rural population center and gateway to Virginia’s horse country in neighboring Clark County, told Fox News Digital he was unsure whether Jones should be fired.

Moore pointed to previous examples of political rhetoric that referenced violence or killing — citing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s controversy that focused on… Hillary Clinton.

“It’s abhorrent,” he said of the blanket speech. Jones’ case “should be addressed, and it should be criticized. But I’m not sure about the complete denial.”

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Danielle of Winchester, Va., said Spanberger’s campaign would be “just fine — if not for Jay Jones.”

“Her entire platform will fall because of Jones,” she said, adding that Spanberger is very smart and an “amazing” candidate, but that Jones’ messaging overshadows the Democratic ticket.

Nancy added: Spanberger did not adequately address the Jones scandal.

“She said she would leave it up to the voters — and I think if she’s going to be our governor, she should definitely take a stand.”

Although they are not Virginia voters, a couple visiting the area from Florida said they are following the race closely from 1,000 miles away.

“The attorney general should step down,” the man told Fox News Digital as he died, adding that if they lived in Virginia they would vote for Earl Sears.

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Asked about Transgender bathroom controversy in nearby LoudounFairfax and Prince William, Virginia — and how Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has dealt with criticism of her responses to them — Callinan said she is “avoiding the issue.”

“She keeps saying: ‘I’m a mother of three daughters, but… the basic issue is: ‘Should I have a boy in the bathroom with my three daughters?’ I think she would say no, but politically she wouldn’t be honest about it.”

“She doesn’t want a grown man in a fitness center with her girls, but she knows she doesn’t want to say that,” he said, apparently referring to the case of Richard Cox, a chronic sex offender in Arlington, Virginia.

In terms of which candidate can best deal with the crime crisis that is particularly evident in urban areas,” President Cullinan said Donald Trump He had done “a splendid job” in Washington, D.C., and that the adjoining areas of Virginia would be best served by Earl Sears following in the President’s footsteps.

He added: “Democrats will never get tough because they know it will alienate a large portion of their base.”

Chris Ladner of Vienna, Virginia, in Democratic-majority Fairfax County, said Spanberger was “not serious” about Controversy over transgender bathrooms and “evading what you really think.”

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Ladner said he supports how Earl Sears responded to the issue.

Ladner, who lives near Washington, added that Earl Sears and current District Attorney Jason Miyares would have done a good job respectively on the crime case.

“Jay Jones wouldn’t be good at that,” Ladner said.

Nancy agreed separately.

“It would definitely be Sears (who would be the best). Firstly, she was a military man, and secondly she had a clear idea of ​​what was right and what was wrong.”

“In addition, I like her religious views,” she said of the devout Christian.

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But Moore disagreed in his comments to Fox News Digital.

He said Spanberger was “deep” in law enforcement — having served as a federal agent before her mediating stint in Congress — and that her positions on economic equality would help the cause.

“Most (of the crime problem) can be traced back to economic inequality and poverty,” he said.

Danielle added that neither candidate is ideal for fighting the crime crisis, but if Spanberger can force Jones off the ticket, she will win this proverbial tie.

Later this week, attention turns to the other end of the highway for Winchester’s Zachary Taylor, where Miyares and Jones face off at the University of Richmond in their only debate.

The battle is likely to come to the fore in the debate over murder scripts. The debate is also notably taking place on the city line from Henrico County, Virginia, where Spanberger is from.

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In sweeps for lieutenant governor, Republican candidate John Reed has repeatedly called for debates against Democratic state Sen. Ghazala Hashemi of Chesterfield, but any potential matchup remains deadlocked.

Meanwhile, Earl Sears has had a cash infusion campaign Since news of Jones has spread, on Monday she released a new ad called “Trigger” that uses excerpts from her debate in Norfolk to criticize Spanberger’s response to the Jones controversy.