Jay Jones wins Attorney General race amid text scandal

Democrat Jay Jones defeated incumbent Republican Jason Miyares in the race for Virginia Attorney General after a bitter campaign marked by a text scandal where Jones threatened violence to a Republican politician.

Jones will become attorney general after winning 52% of the votes, as of 9:50 p.m., and will serve alongside Abigail Spanberger, who won the governor's race, and Ghazala Hashmi, who won the lieutenant governor's race.  

The win comes after a contentious race, predicted to be closer than both the governor and lieutenant governor races. Polls indicated Jones’s support was falling following backlash over discovery of years-old text messages wishing violence against the then-Republican speaker of the Virginia House, Todd Gilbert.

In the messages, Jones texted state Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) a hypothetical situation with “three people, two bullets.” Jones texted Coyner “Gilbert, hitler and pol pot,” then replying “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

Jones issued a public apology for the messages and continued his campaign despite calls to drop out of the race from Republicans. 

Jones’s campaign largely focused on his promise to defend Virginia against the Trump administration, noting that Miyares had failed to join in on any lawsuits lodged by other states against the Trump administration’s executive orders.

“From working to block Elon Musk’s access to citizens’ private records to halting the plot to abolish the Department of Education – state Attorneys General have gone to court to get results and stop the Trump administration, while Miyares has done nothing,” his website reads.

Recently, on Oct. 28, Jones condemned Miyares for refusing to join other states in suing over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts. 

Abortion rights also took center stage, with Jones vowing to fight attempts to restrict abortion access while Miyares supported Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed ban.

“I’ll always work to ensure Virginia women, doctors and clinics are protected to the full extent of the law,” his website reads. “And to support Planned Parenthood and local community health centers providing healthcare to women against attempts to bankrupt them through the legal system.”

Jones previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 89th district from 2018 to 2022. 

Contact managing editor Andrea Padilla at andrea.padilla@richmond.edu