Former state Delegate Jay Jones has flipped the Virginia Attorney General’s Office blue, defeating incumbent Jason Miyares despite being plagued by scandal the last month of the campaign.
Jones eked out a win, collecting 53% of the vote, according to unofficial vote tallies.
Miyares was facing difficult re-election prospects. He would be on the ballot in an off-year cycle, ahead of Midterm Elections widely expected to favor Democrats, meaning he had to be careful not to fall victim to any frustrations that might exist over Republican leadership in Washington.
And those fears became even more pronounced at the onset of President Donald Trump’s second term, when the creation of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency led to massive federal government layoffs, including 300,000 in Virginia.
By October, there was even more concern, with the federal shutdown further impacting the state’s robust federal workforce.
But scandal dogged Jones since early October, after leaked text messages from 2022 showed him romanticizing shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert. Jones was a state delegate at the time.
The texts prompted many Republicans, including Miyares, to call for Jones to drop out of the race, arguing his texts supported political violence at a time when such attacks are on the rise. The assassination of Charlie Kirk and attempted assassination of Trump are still fresh in Republicans’ minds. Even Democrats distanced themselves from Jones after the texts were uncovered.
Abigail Spanberger, who won her race for Governor Tuesday night, condemned the messages, but stopped short of asking Jones to drop out of the race.
Following the text scandal, polls reflected the controversy. Of all the statewide races on the ballot Tuesday, the race for Attorney General was the closest, with two showing Miyares with an edge over Jones, and another two showing Jones with a slight lead. All four were within the respective polls’ margins of error.
While the texts became an integral line of attack in Miyares re-election campaign — various GOP interests dropped $3.5 million on attack ads — Jones never backed down. And while numerous Democrats condemned his messages, Jones continued to benefit from joint campaign events where, even though they might not have touted him personally, some big names made sure to tie Miyares to Trump’s brand of politics.
That includes former President Barack Obama who campaign in the final stretch with Spanberger, Jones and Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidate Ghazala Hashmi, who also won her election.
The trio of victories is a huge success for Democrats as the nation looks to Virginia as a bellwether for next year’s Midterms.
Democrats were hoping to capitalize on discontent with Trump’s brand of politics, pain from federal job cuts that disproportionately affect Virginia due to its proximity to Washington, and ongoing concern over the government shutdown, which will on Wednesday become the longest in U.S. history. And they did.
Now, Democrats may be emboldened by victories they see as a likely message to the GOP about the nation’s feelings on the current White House administration.
