During Tuesday night’s Virginia attorney general election, media predictions indicated that Democrat Jay Jones would narrowly defeat Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.
The election was called about three hours after polls closed at 7 p.m., with over 80% of votes counted. The contest was quite close, with Miyares trailing by just a few points. NBC News reported that with 85% of the ballots counted, Jones was leading 52% to 47.5%.
Mr. Jones’ anticipated victory follows a campaign overshadowed by a scandal involving 2022 text messages in which he expressed dark fantasies about Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children being harmed.
This document ignited considerable controversy, particularly after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, leading Republicans to urge Democrats to disavow Jones and his inflammatory comments.
Ultimately, Democrats did not hold Mr. Jones accountable for his violent fantasies against Republicans and their families.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, who also emerged victorious in her race, specifically chose to maintain her support for Jones despite the emergence of his messages.
Jones faced a much tighter path to victory compared to Spanberger, who beat Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earl Sears by over 10 points. In total, more than 1.5 million Virginians voted for Jones, while nearly 1.7 million cast ballots for Spanberger.
President Donald Trump backed Miyares in the campaign, calling for Jones to “drop out of the race” due to his violent text exchanges.
At that time, Miyares labeled Jones as “reckless, bigoted, and willing to compromise integrity,” deeming his actions “disqualifying.”
“The attorney general is Virginia’s chief law enforcement officer,” Miyares remarked. “This authority must always be wielded with neutrality, integrity, and character, as it’s crucial for all Virginians to trust the system designed to keep them safe. Recent developments show Jay Jones as reckless and biased, compromising his integrity and disqualifying him from the role of Attorney General.”
“As a former prosecutor and now attorney general, I’ve been with grieving parents and victims,” he continued. “There’s no cry more haunting than that of a parent who’s lost a child. I’ve felt their agony, held their hands, and seen the destruction that violent crime inflicts. No one, especially a candidate for this position, should exploit that suffering for political gain.”
“Until this week, the race revolved around public safety policies,” Miyares concluded at the time. “Now, it seems to hinge on basic moral character required for public office.”
