richmond, VA – Democrat Jay Jones has won the race for Virginia Attorney General, โคdespite recent controversy surrounding previously published text messages containing violentโค rhetoric. Jones defeated Republican Jason Miyares inโข Tuesday’s election.
The โoutcome marks a โsignificant 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 2022โ in which Jones made disturbing commentsโ about former Virginia House Speaker Todd โขGilbert,โฃ stating, “three people two bulletsโฆGilbert, Hitler, and PolpotโฆGilbert gets two bullets too the head.” Jones subsequently apologized, stating, “I โคtake full responsibility for โขmy actions, and I want to issue โmy deepest apologyโ to Speaker Gilbert and his family. Reading โback those words made โme sick โคto 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 โฃhe was focused on “Virginians’ pocketbooks.” He pledged to target โ”the price gougers, we’re โขgoing after the corporate โpolluters, we’re going after the folks who are making us all less safe and less โsecure, andโข that we areโค 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 โHouse of Delegates โขfrom 2018 to 2022. As leaving the house, he has worked in the private sector, litigating cases related to voting rights on behalf of organizations โฃlike the Virginia State โฃconference of the NAACP. He previously ran for Attorneyโ General in 2020,losing the Democratic primary to Mark Herring.
