Former Virginia House Delegate Jay Jones reportedly filed paperwork to run for Attorney General of the commonwealth, ending his break from politics that began after Jones announced his resignation in 2021.
Jones filed paperwork to run for Virginia Attorney General on August 28, according to WRIC, which reported Monday a staff member for the Democrat replied that any official announcement would come after the November elections.
“Jay remains solely focused on the critical elections in November, which is why he is in Newport News today campaigning for the Harris-Walz ticket,” the staff member told the outlet, adding that any official announcement would “come after those elections have concluded.”
Jones previously ran for Virginia Attorney General in 2021, when he challenged former Attorney General Mark Herring for the nomination in the Democratic primary and lost despite Herring’s public reputation being marred by a blackface scandal.
Herring won his party’s nomination with about 57 percent of the vote, but after losing the statewide primary, Jones went on to win reelection to his seat in the House of Delegates.
Citing a desire to spend time working as an attorney and with his family, Jones announced his resignation the next month, prompting a special election.
Jones also pledged to recruit and train other politicians, with a focus on those who are black and female, but hinted at a potential run in 2025.
“Let me be clear, our work is not done and I intend to serve the people of Virginia for years to come,” said Jones in 2021. “And that work may well mean a run for Attorney General in 2025.”
The suggestion by the Democrat’s staff member that a formal announcement would come after the election echoes the statement made by Attorney General Jason Miyares in July, who is often speculated to be contemplating a run for governor in 2025.
Miyares, at a Virginia rally held by former President Donald Trump where he also delivered remarks, said, “I will be happy to comment about and discuss my political future at the appropriate time. We have a really important election right now.”
“The debate in 2025 is going to be if you liked the Joe Biden model of governance, or if you liked the Glenn Younkin model of governance,” said Miyares in remarks made when President Joe Biden was the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee.
Miyares added that Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), who will leave Congress to run for governor next year, “voted 100 percent with Joe Biden this last year.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jay Jones” by Jay Jones and “A.G. Jason Mirayes” is by A.G. Jason Miyares.
