Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville drew criticism Wednesday after joking that he would consider running a convicted pedophile as a Democratic candidate, suggesting such a person might still defeat a Republican in today’s political climate. His remarks came on his Politics War Room podcast, as he discussed Virginia’s elections and the victory of Democrat Jay Jones, the state’s attorney general-elect.
“I’m personally going to find a convicted pedophile and run him in a race just to see if he could beat a Republican,” Carville said, laughing. “I’m not sure. I’m not going to say that a convicted pedophile could win.” The comment came as Carville argued that President Donald Trump’s influence has damaged the Republican brand so deeply that even deeply flawed Democrats could prevail at the polls. “Hey, you got some baggage out there with Trump, people,” Carville added. “Just know that.”
Carville’s remarks followed Jones’s victory on Tuesday, which capped a strong night for Virginia Democrats. The party not only secured the attorney general’s office but also flipped the governorship and lieutenant governorship, while gaining at least ten seats in the House of Delegates. Jones won with 52.7 percent of the vote against Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, who garnered 46.9 percent, according to NBC News, with more than 96 percent of votes counted. Pre-election polling had shown the race to be competitive.
Jones’s campaign had faced intense criticism over leaked text messages he sent in 2022 to then–Republican delegate Carrie Coyner. In one message, Jones said he would give then–Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert “two bullets to the head” and urinate on his grave. He also wrote that if presented with Gilbert, Adolf Hitler, and Pol Pot, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” according to National Review, which obtained the messages.
Despite the inflammatory comments, Jones remained in the race and retained support from leading Democrats, including Senator Tim Kaine and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who declined to call for his withdrawal. Carville himself dismissed the controversy, noting the irony that Coyner—the Republican lawmaker who released the messages—lost her reelection bid on Tuesday. “The Republican legislator who released the texts lost and Jay won,” Carville said, laughing. “The most interesting piece of news of this cycle.”
Carville also acknowledged that Miyares, the defeated Republican attorney general, had “run a pretty good campaign.” Yet he suggested that even well-run GOP efforts could be thwarted by what he sees as Trump’s lasting impact on the party’s reputation.
The strategist’s comments, while delivered in jest, underscored a tone of triumphalism among Democrats following their Virginia sweep. Still, the suggestion that Democrats could successfully run even a convicted pedophile against Republicans struck many observers as emblematic of an increasingly cynical political culture.
Jones’s victory, despite violent rhetoric that once might have ended a campaign, and the muted response from Democratic leaders, may point to a shifting threshold for accountability in American politics—a trend critics argue is being excused in the name of partisan gain.
