Thursday night at the University of Richmond, Virginia’s race for attorney general took center stage as Republican incumbent Jason Miyares and Democratic challenger Jay Jones faced off in their first—and only—public debate, just weeks before voters head to the polls. The event, sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association and moderated by K. Brett Marston, president of the Virginia State Bar, quickly evolved from a policy discussion into a pointed clash over character, experience, and the future direction of the commonwealth.
The debate opened with Miyares attacking Jones’s prosecutorial credentials, or lack thereof. “He’s a politician, not a prosecutor,” Miyares asserted, according to reporting from the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “He’s never prosecuted a day in his life. That’s the reason why law enforcement has said he has disqualified himself. Virginians, we could do better than a left-wing politician trying to seek a promotion.”
Jones, a former delegate from Norfolk, fired back by tying Miyares directly to former President Donald Trump, a theme that would dominate his campaign’s message. “Jason Miyares is a willing cheerleader for Donald Trump,” Jones said. “He has done nothing to help us and protect Virginia in these last nine months. He has been a cheerleader for the president. They hang out at MAGA rallies together. I will see Donald Trump in court to hold him accountable for Virginia.” (VPM News)
But the debate wasn’t just about political allegiances. Early on, the focus shifted to a controversy that had dogged Jones since its revelation: violent text messages he sent in 2022, in which he hypothetically described shooting a fellow lawmaker. “By every standard, Jay Jones does not have the experience or the judgment to serve as the top prosecutor, but now we know something else: We have seen a window to who Jay Jones is and the way he thinks of people that disagree with him,” Miyares said, referencing the texts.
Jones, looking to move past the scandal, again apologized. “I am sorry to Speaker Gilbert, and I am sorry to his family. I am sorry to my family, and I am sorry to every single Virginian. I cannot take back what I said, but you have my word that I will always be accountable for my mistakes, and you also have my word that I will spend every waking moment fighting for you,” he said. “Jason is going to try to make this race about my mistakes, but this race has always been about more.”
The issue of character loomed large, but both candidates also sparred over policy. Miyares touted his record as attorney general, focusing on crime reduction and public safety. He highlighted drops in murders in targeted “ceasefire cities,” a decrease in overdose deaths, and initiatives such as Operation Bold Blue Line and Operation Ceasefire. “More Virginians are safer today because of the incredible work we’ve done in the attorney general’s office,” Miyares declared. He also emphasized his office’s efforts against drug trafficking: “My office alone has prosecuted and removed enough fentanyl off our streets that would have taken the lives of 7 million Virginians... but also going after the big pharmaceutical companies, suing them and recovering close to $1.5 billion in recoveries.”
Jones, meanwhile, promised a “brighter Virginia.” He outlined plans to protect abortion rights, jobs, and healthcare, and to fight tariffs that he argued were hurting Virginians’ wallets. “I believe in the opportunity of Virginia, a Virginia where we protect civil rights and civil liberties, where we reject the agenda for Donald Trump of extremism,” Jones said. He criticized Miyares for not suing the Trump administration over policies he claimed were harming the state, from illegal firings of federal workers to tariffs that “destroy people’s pocketbooks.”
Education funding became another flashpoint. Miyares insisted that “not a single school has lost a single dime of any funding or any research” under his watch, while Jones pointed to the resignation of former UVA President Jim Ryan amid pressure from the Trump administration as evidence of undue federal influence. “Whatever Donald Trump says, Jason will do. That’s exactly why so many alums from across this commonwealth and across this country have been embarrassed by what they saw at the University of Virginia,” Jones said.
On public safety, Jones promoted his “three-pillar” plan: creating a drug trafficking unit, removing untraceable “ghost” guns, and establishing a child safety unit. He recounted his experience as an assistant attorney general, saying, “I took on the largest ghost gun manufacturer in this country, and we brought them to their knees and put them out of business.” Miyares, for his part, accused Jones of being “soft” on crime and referenced Jones’ support for an early release program for offenders, as well as his controversial texts.
Energy and affordability, top concerns for many Virginians, were also debated. Miyares criticized climate policies like the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), arguing they drive up utility bills. “I think working-class Virginians can’t afford a carbon tax on their every day of their monthly energy bills, which Jay Jones supports, will be between $200–$500 million a year on the ratepayers,” Miyares said. Jones called the state’s withdrawal from RGGI “patently illegal” and stressed the need to “protect our environment, clean air and clean water, and hold those people accountable so that people in Virginia can get that relief that they need.”
The debate also touched on immigration, with Miyares stating, “every state has become a border state,” and highlighting efforts to remove “violent” gangs. Jones emphasized due process and civil rights, saying, “We have to protect civil rights and civil liberties here in this commonwealth and make sure that everybody is afforded due process.”
Underlying the entire debate was the broader context of federal policies and their impact on Virginians. The ongoing federal government shutdown had already led to approximately 1,250 federal employees in Virginia applying for unemployment since October 1, a sharp increase from the usual average, according to the Virginia Employment Commission (VPM News). Meanwhile, an estimated 300,000 Virginians are expected to lose health care due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would also reduce state tax collections by $900 million this fiscal year.
The candidates wrapped up by debating the role of the attorney general itself—should it be a political office or a strictly legal one? Miyares argued, “He wants to turn this into a political office. He wants to fight the fights in Washington. My interest is in fighting the fights and putting the bad guys away out of our streets... If Jay Jones wants to fight the fights in Washington, he should run for Congress, but he’s running for the wrong office.” Jones countered that Virginians need an attorney general willing to stand up to federal overreach and defend their rights, especially against what he called “the agenda for Donald Trump of extremism.”
With the election drawing near, the debate at the University of Richmond made clear that the race for Virginia’s attorney general is about much more than policy—it’s a referendum on leadership, character, and the role of the office in a politically divided era. Voters now face a choice that could shape the future of the commonwealth for years to come.
