richmond, VA – Democrat Jay Jones has won the race for Virginia Attorney General, despite recent controversy surrounding previously published text messages containing violent rhetoric. Jones defeated Republican Jason Miyares in Tuesday’s election.
The outcome marks a significant moment in Virginia politics, as jones will become the first African American Attorney General in the state’s history. However, the victory comes after The national Review published texts from 2022 in which Jones made disturbing comments about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, stating, “three people two bullets…Gilbert, Hitler, and Polpot…Gilbert gets two bullets too the head.” Jones subsequently apologized, stating, “I take full responsibility for my actions, and I want to issue my deepest apology to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry.”
Throughout his campaign,Jones,36,focused on economic issues,telling FOX 5’s Jim Lokay in june that he was focused on “Virginians’ pocketbooks.” He pledged to target ”the price gougers, we’re going after the corporate polluters, we’re going after the folks who are making us all less safe and less secure, and that we are protecting civil rights and civil liberties, as that’s what’s at stake in this election.”
Jones, a Norfolk native and graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, previously served two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022. As leaving the house, he has worked in the private sector, litigating cases related to voting rights on behalf of organizations like the Virginia State conference of the NAACP. He previously ran for Attorney General in 2020,losing the Democratic primary to Mark Herring.
