This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
Jay Jones, a Democratic former state delegate from Norfolk, on Tuesday announced his bid for Virginia attorney general at two separate events in Norfolk and Richmond.
For Jones, who represented the 89th District in the House of Delegates from 2019 to 2021, it marks his second run for his party’s nomination for attorney general. In 2021, he lost the Democratic primary to then-incumbent Mark Herring, despite an endorsement from former Gov. Ralph Northam.
“Last week we awoke to an uncertain future and a president-elect who openly flouts the rule of law,” Jones said before a small crowd of supporters that had gathered at Maggie L. Walker Memorial Plaza in Richmond Tuesday afternoon.
“With an incoming administration, families now face the threat of higher healthcare costs as (Donald) Trump seeks to kick tens of thousands of working Virginians off Medicaid and end the protections of the Affordable Care Act,” Jones said.
He also accused Attorney General Jason Miyares, the Republican incumbent and his potential opponent, of using his office “to attack Virginians’ freedoms, pander to the fringes of his own party and side with corporate price gougers and polluters” at the cost of Virginia families.
“He’s used his office to advance his own radical, personal, partisan-political agenda,” Jones said of Miyares.
So far, Jones is one of two declared candidates in the 2025 attorney general’s race, alongside Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. Miyares responded to Jones’ announcement Tuesday by calling out his potential opponents on social media.
“Both of the announced Democrat candidates for attorney general are far-left, anti-police, criminal rights progressives who will make Virginia less safe,” Miyares wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “They will support the same criminal first, victim last policies that lead to a surge in violent crime.”
Miyares has yet to declare whether he will run for reelection or seek his party’s nomination for governor.
During his Richmond appearance, Jones declined to comment on the attorney general’s response to his announcement.
“You have to ask him why he said that,” he said. “We’re focused on this campaign, whatever he says and whatever he tweets out, that’s him, and his campaign’s business.”
Jones’s pre-legislature career includes a stint at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he specialized in risk management and credit advisory for natural resources and tech companies. After two years, he returned to Virginia, earning his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2015.
While in law school, Jones interned for Del. Algie Howell, who represented the 90th House District from 2004 until 2014. Jones was elected to the body himself in 2017 after winning a competitive Democratic primary and defeating Libertarian candidate Terry Hurst in the general election, succeeding then-Del. Daun Hester, D-Norfolk.
Jones said on Tuesday that he is running because Virginians need an attorney general who is focused on keeping the commonwealth safe instead of following a partisan agenda.
“As your attorney general, I will protect Virginia’s families, our children, and our most vulnerable,” he said. “We will crack down on those who would do our kids harm by working with law enforcement to get illegal guns off our streets, shut down drug traffickers and hold to account the gun manufacturers whose weapons of war are used to commit mass shootings and crimes.”
Jones vowed to “go after the criminals that prey on children and our families and put them where they belong — behind bars,” and he promised to take on social media companies “fueling a mental health crisis among our young people” and corporations that pollute air and water.
“And if the Trump administration again tries to raise the health care cost by taking apart the Affordable Care Act, I’ll be the first to take him to court to stop it,” Jones said, adding that he would always fight back against “any attempt to undermine abortion rights in Virginia” and use “the full weight of the office” to protect women and medical professionals.
The House Privileges and Elections Committee is set to meet Wednesday to consider several proposed constitutional amendments, including one to guarantee access to abortion in Virginia and another to remove outdated language defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman.
“I will join the fight to enshrine these rights in our Constitution today,” Jones said.
