NORFOLK, Va. — Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) faced off in the first and only gubernatorial debate following a headline-grabbing controversy involving violent texts sent by the Democratic nominee for attorney general.

Jay Jones, who’s running to be the commonwealth’s top prosecutor, sent the texts back in 2022 after he left the state House. In the messages, which he sent to a Republican state lawmaker, he talks about shooting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).

The scandal, which erupted over the weekend after the texts were reported on by the National Review, has threatened to upend the governor’s race, which until now has been fairly low-key. Spanberger, who has held a strong lead over Earle-Sears in polling, quickly condemned Jones’s remarks. But all eyes were on her Thursday night to see if she would call on him to exit the race.

The debate, which was hosted by WAVY 10, an NBC affiliate owned by The Hill’s parent company Nexstar, was also marked by frequent interruptions. Earle-Sears sought to put her opponent on constant defense, leading to a raucous and sometimes bitter event.

Here are five takeaways from the heated Virginia gubernatorial debate:

Spanberger won’t say she backs Jones, but doesn’t call for him to exit

Thursday night put to rest the question of whether Spanberger would call on Jones to drop out of the race, at least for the time being.

At the beginning of the debate, the moderators asked Spanberger when she first knew about the texts and whether she still endorsed Jones. Spanberger said she found out about the texts when they were released publicly, but she would not........

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