The Virginia gubernatorial debate is taking place on Thursday under the shadow of a controversy involving leaked text messages from Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones, in which he expressed using violence against the former GOP state House speaker.

Republicans, including President Trump, have come out in droves to call on Jones to drop out.

Now former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, will be forced to address the issue live during Thursday’s debate. Her GOP rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), has already rolled out a number of ads hitting Spanberger over the controversy.

The debate comes as Spanberger maintains a solid lead over Earle-Sears, having spent the majority of the race leaning on issues of cost and affordability, as well as recent cuts to the federal workforce under Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. The latest government shutdown and questions over whether furloughed workers will receive backpay is also likely to factor into the race and Thursday's debate.

Here are five things to watch in the debate.

How does Spanberger address the Jones controversy?

Spanberger is almost sure to be asked point blank if she thinks Jones should exit the race, forcing her to respond once more to a controversy that is threatening to upturn the elections in Virginia.

News of Jones’s text messages were first reported by the National Review and later published by the Republican Attorneys General Association over the weekend.

Jones sent the texts about shooting former House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R) to Republican Del. Carrie Coyner in 2022. The Democrat was not in elected office at........

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