Former state Delegate Jay Jones pulled off a narrow but significant victory Tuesday night, flipping the Virginia Attorney General’s Office blue and defeating Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, even after a late-breaking scandal nearly derailed his campaign.
According to The Hill, Jones won with 51% of the vote, according to unofficial election results, marking another key win for Democrats in a night that also saw Abigail Spanberger elected governor and Ghazala Hashmi win the lieutenant governor’s race.
Miyares entered the race facing steep headwinds. The election came during an off-year cycle expected to favor Democrats amid growing frustration with Republican leadership in Washington — including fallout from massive federal layoffs under President Donald Trump’s second term and an ongoing government shutdown that has crippled parts of Virginia’s economy.
But the campaign took a dramatic turn in October when leaked text messages from 2022 showed Jones joking about “shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert.” At the time, Jones was still serving as a state delegate.
The revelation prompted bipartisan outrage. Republicans immediately called for Jones to drop out of the race, with Miyares condemning the remarks as promoting political violence.
Even many Democrats distanced themselves. Spanberger, who topped the Democratic ticket, condemned the messages but stopped short of urging Jones to withdraw.
Despite the controversy, Jones refused to step aside. The scandal dominated headlines and campaign ads — GOP groups spent more than $3.5 million attacking him over the texts — but Jones maintained that his remarks were taken out of context and sought to pivot the race back to economic and justice issues.
In the campaign’s closing weeks, Democrats rallied around the broader ticket, tying Miyares to Trump’s brand of politics rather than defending Jones directly. The coordinated push appeared to work.
Former President Barack Obama joined Spanberger, Jones, and Hashmi for rallies across Virginia in the final days, urging voters to reject “division and dysfunction.”
“Virginia voters showed tonight that they’re ready to move forward — not backward,” Obama said at a rally in Richmond last weekend.
The race for attorney general ended up being the tightest statewide contest of the night. Polls leading up to Election Day showed a statistical dead heat — two giving Miyares a narrow edge and two favoring Jones — all within their respective margins of error.
Tuesday’s results capped a Democratic sweep of Virginia’s top offices, marking a sharp reversal from 2021, when Republicans had captured the governor’s mansion and the attorney general’s office.
While Jones’ victory comes with baggage, it cements him as one of the most controversial — and consequential — figures in Virginia’s Democratic resurgence.
