Democrat Jay Jones narrowly won the Virginia Attorney General race on Tuesday night over incumbent Republican Jason Miyares, various outlets projected.
The race was called almost three hours after the polls closed in Virginia at 7 p.m., with more than 80 percent of the votes counted. The race was extremely close, with Miyares a few points shy of keeping his position. By the time NBC News called the race with 85 percent of votes counted, Jones was ahead 52 percent to 47.5 percent.
Jones’s projected victory comes after a race largely characterized by a scandal involving text messages from 2022 showing Jones fantasizing about Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children being gunned down.
The texts were a major flashpoint, as Republicans pressured Democrats to revoke their endorsements of Jones and disavow his violent rhetoric, especially in the wake of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Ultimately, Democrats refused to hold Jones accountable for fantasizing about the murder of a Republican and his children.
Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, who was also declared the winner of her race, notably refused to revoke her endorsement of Jones after his texts surfaced.
Jones did see a much narrower path to victory than Spanberger, who beat out Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by more than ten points. Overall, more than 1.5 million Virginia voters cast ballots for Jones, while nearly 1.7 million voted for Spanberger.
President Donald Trump had endorsed Miyares in the race. At the time of his endorsement, Trump called on Jones to “drop out of the race” over his violent text messages.
Miyares expressed at the time that Jones had “shown he’s reckless, biased, and willing to trade away his integrity,” and called his conduct “disqualifying.”
“The Attorney General is Virginia’s Chief Law Enforcement Officer,” Miyares said. “That authority must always be exercised with neutrality, integrity, and character — because that’s the only way every Virginian can trust the system meant to protect them. With the recent revelations, it’s clear Jay Jones has shown he’s reckless, biased, and willing to trade away his integrity, disqualifying himself from ever serving as Attorney General.”
“As a former prosecutor and current Attorney General, I’ve sat with crying victims and grieving families,” Miyares continued. “There is no sound more haunting than the cries of a parent who has lost a child. I’ve seen their pain, held their hands, and witnessed the devastation that violent crime leaves behind. Absolutely no one, least of all a candidate for Virginia’s top law-enforcement office, should ever treat that pain as a political tool.”
“Prior to this week, this race was about competing views on public safety,” Miyares added at the time. “Now it’s about basic fitness for public office.”
