RICHMOND, Va. — Current Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican, has been unseated by his Democratic challenger: Former Del. Jay Jones, CNN projects.
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Jones won the election despite indications from polls that he lost popularity amongst voters following a threatening text controversy. In early October, reports surfaced about texts sent by Jones in 2022. In the messages, he talked about hypothetically shooting then-Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert and expressed wishes of violence against Gilbert's children. Jones admitted to sending the texts and apologized to Gilbert.
Jones, 36, was born in Norfolk, where both of his parents worked in public office.
The Democratic candidate earned a bachelor's degree from the College of William & Mary before receiving his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2015.
In 2017, Jones won his bid to represent the 89th district in the Virginia House of Delegates — the same seat his father held from 1988 to 2002. He later ran an unsuccessful primary campaign against then-incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring in 2021. Later that year, Jones resigned from the House of Delegates after announcing that he and his wife were expecting their first child.
