Virginia Democrats selected former Del. Jay Jones as their attorney general nominee Tuesday evening ahead of the November off-year election, widely seen as a political bellwether.
Jones defeated Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, 51% to 49%, with 95% of votes counted according to the Associated Press.
The win sets up a November battle against Attorney General Jason Miyares (R-VA), who is seeking reelection. Jones, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2021, vowed to become the commonwealth’s first black top lawyer.
Jones joins the Democratic ticket along with former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who will face off against Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) in November.
DEMOCRATS LOOK TO VIRGINIA’S ABIGAIL SPANBERGER FOR A WIN AFTER ROUGH PATCH
Both women already clinched the nominations for the gubernatorial race before Tuesday’s primaries. Whoever wins will become Virginia’s first woman governor in history.
The Democratic primary for lieutenant governor was still too close to call as of 10:11 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi is currently in the lead with 27.4% of the vote, with nearly 96% of votes counted. Former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is in a close second place with 26.6%, followed by state Sen. Aaron Rouse with 26.3%. Dr. Babur Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board, Alex Bastani, and Victor Salgado are trailing behind in the single digits.
The winner will face John Reid, the only GOP candidate for lieutenant governor.
Both the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races are seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s tenure during his second term. Virginia has been widely affected by job layoffs in the federal government, given its proximity to Washington, D.C.
Democrats hope to retake all three statewide races after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), who is term-limited, flipped Virginia red in 2021 along with Earle-Sears and Miyares.