ARLINGTON, Va. – Democrat Jay Jones secured victory in Virginia’s race for attorney general Nov. 4, overcoming a text message scandal that threatened his chances while becoming a cudgel that Republicans used to try to sink the rest of his party’s state-wide ticket.  
Jones’ win marks a Democratic sweep of the Virginia elections. Abigail Spanberger won the state’s governor’s race and state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi won the lieutenant governor’s race.
Days before the election, polls showed Jones locked in a dead heat with the Republican incumbent attorney general, Jason Miyares. Jones, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, led the race for months until reports surfaced in September that he once mused about shooting a Republican lawmaker in the head. He sent the messages to a GOP lawmaker in 2022.  
Leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the comments, and Republicans called for Jones to quit the race.  
The Democrat apologized for the messages in an Oct. 16 debate against Miyares, in which he cast himself as the only candidate in the race who would challenge President Donald Trump’s layoffs of federal workers, tariffs, National Guard deployments and other policies. 
Virginia has one of the largest populations of federal workers in the country. Jones and other Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, attempted to capitalize on voter frustration toward the Trump administration policies taking a toll on the state’s economy.  
Jones’ win marks a major victory for Democrats, as they look to Virginia’s off-year election as a bellwether for the 2026 midterms. 

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