The Virginia primary election is just more than a week away, and the Republican ticket for statewide races is set. However, Democrats must choose a candidate in two races, including attorney general.
Shannon Taylor and Jay Jones are vying to take on Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in November. Taylor has served as the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney for more than a decade and hopes to leverage her experience as a prosecutor statewide.
“Being a prosecutor means I’ve been in the courtroom, and I’ve actually tried cases. I have been there to understand what the legal issues are. I have drafted the pleadings. I have made the arguments and really have a proven record of being a fighter,” Taylor said.
Jones, a Norfolk resident, previously served in the House of Delegates and was an assistant attorney general in Washington, D.C. He is now an attorney for a Washington law firm. He ran in the 2021 Democratic primary for attorney general. Jones is the son of the late former delegate and judge Jerrauld Jones, who passed away on May 31.
“Our legislative experience, our public sector experience, and our private sector experience I think, lends itself to this moment. And we will use the office to help us and not to the benefit of just a few people across Virginia or one guy in Washington,” Jones said.
Political ads from both Taylor and Jones prominently feature vows to combat the Trump administration and join lawsuits from Democratic attorneys general across the country.
“When we know that the administration’s actions have been directly impacting, whether it be our federal employees, our veteran services, what we’re seeing is going to be happening when it comes to the life-saving actions of Medicaid protection, Medicare, all the ideas that we know that have impacts on Virginians,” Taylor said.
“Since Donald Trump came back into office, everybody has felt the pain. It’s not just people in Northern Virginia or people who live in areas where there are a heavy concentration of federal employees. It’s all across the Commonwealth. And we have traveled to near and far to every corner of this Commonwealth, including the Valley,” Jones added.
On immigration, the candidates emphasized the importance of keeping communities safe while enforcing the law.
“But when you start to upend the immigration process, which we recognize needed to be fixed, let’s remember that our president told Congress, do not pass that fix, so he could run on it. And then you bring forth these actions, which I call chaos, being done in violation of the Constitution, because every single person still gets the protection of the Constitution. We are doing something drastically wrong,” Taylor said.
“I think what is very difficult in this moment is you’re getting conflicting directions from the federal government and the state government. And that’s putting our local law enforcement officers in a very strange place in the middle, where they don’t know what to do. They just want consistent guidance and consistent direction from each level of government so that they can go do their jobs,” Jones said.
10 News also asked the candidates about gun violence. Roanoke City, Lynchburg, Martinsville, and Danville have been part of incumbent AG Miyares’ Ceasefire Virginia initiative aimed at reducing crime.
“There is certainly a role to play for the attorney general from the bully pulpit and also from a resources perspective. We want to make sure that our office is visible in communities across the Commonwealth. We want to make sure that we’re using our resources and deploying our staff and our attorneys to do as much as we can to stem the problem,” Jones said.
“I can say that I’m probably the only person in this race, whether it be the primary or even in the general, who’s actually done that work. How are we gauging what success is? And that’s what we really need to talk about. It’s more than just that there is a drop in crime. What are we doing to help our kids? What are we doing to address behavioral issues and challenges that our young people are facing?” Taylor said.
The Attorney General’s office is also charged with enforcing consumer protection laws, something both candidates vowed would be a priority.
“This is the moment when we need to really lean in to what the office is supposed to do at its core ... and make sure that it’s working for Virginians,” Jones said.
“The AG is front and center for those for those issues and I can let the public know that in the course of being the prosecutor for Henrico County, I have been involved in numerous cases that have hit directly on the regulatory aspect,” Taylor said.
Taylor is hoping that voters agree that her experience will make the difference. She’s touting endorsements from figures like former Attorney General Mark Herring and both the sheriff and the commonwealth’s attorney in Alexandria.
Meanwhile, Jones is leading the fundraising race so far and has some key endorsements of his own, including former governors Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe.
Early voting continues through the week, with Primary Day set for June 17.