At debate, attorney general candidates Jones and Miyares trade barbs over violent texts, Trump

In their only debate of the election cycle, Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares and Democratic challenger Jay Jones laid out their plans should they be elected Virginia’s top prosecutor Thursday night at the University of Richmond. In an exchange markedly less heated than last week’s gubernatorial debate, both men portrayed themselves as defenders of the law who would work to stem crime statewide, enforce consumer protections and uphold Virginians’ rights.

Throughout the debate, moderated by Virginia State Bar president Brett Marsten, Jones  emphasized his willingness to push back against President Donald Trump’s administration in court and accused Miyares of aligning with federal policies that constitute federal overreach.  

Miyares pledged to continue cracking down on illegal immigration to thwart gang violence and repeatedly called Jones’ character into question by referencing the former state lawmaker’s past reckless driving charge and violent text messages, both revealed in recent weeks. 

Before the questions got underway, Jones used his opening statement to address text messages he’d sent to a Republican state lawmaker in 2022 in which he’d referenced shooting former House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, and Gilbert’s children dying “in their mother’s arms” in order for the party to take action on gun safety laws. The texts prompted Republicans inside and outside the state — from Miyares and Gov. Glenn Youngkin to Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance — to call for Jones to drop out of the race. 

“I am sorry to Speaker Gilbert. I am sorry to his family. I am sorry to my family, and I’m sorry to every single Virginian,” Jones said. 

“You had three years to apologize,” Miyares countered in his opening monologue, who urged Jones to leave the race multiple times during the evening. 

Dueling visions of how to protect Virginians

Jones, a litigator in D.C. and former state delegate from Norfolk, is a married father of two sons. He is the grandson of a pioneering civil rights attorney and the son of a longtime state delegate and circuit court judge. 

Miayres is ending his first term as attorney general after being elected to the office in 2021. The son of a mother who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, Miyares is also a former state delegate and a prosecutor in the Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, and the first Latino to serve in a statewide office in Virginia. 

On the debate stage, both men promised to protect Virginians, but professed vastly different approaches to doing so.

When not jabbing at Jones about the scandals, Miyares depicted himself as “the people’s protector” and touted a state program he’s helped lead in that has helped reduce crime and noted consumer protection lawsuits he’s undertaken to shield Virginians from rising prescription costs and other challenges.  

Jones countered that Miyares would seldom take a stand against Trump, saying Miyares is “too weak to stand up to the president.” He also pointed out that Miyares hadn’t emulated attorneys generals in different states who have joined attempts to block the president from deploying the National Guard to their states and to hinder proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act. He also repeatedly pummeled Miyares and Republican leaders over mass federal workforce reductions this year, a hot topic in the state that is home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers. 

Energy and environment

Each pointed to their voting records in the General Assembly, too, with the conversation lingering on energy legislation. 

Miyares said he supported an “all of the above” approach to meeting Virginia’s energy needs, in a nod to Youngkin’s refrain about the importance of embracing multiple energy sources. He reminded the audience of how his office negotiated Dominion Energy’s offshore wind plan to reduce ratepayers’ share of the costs. 

The attorney general also described the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as a “tax on working class Virginians that I oppose and that Jay Jones supports.” 

Jones noted his support of the Virginia Clean Economy Act and Virginia’s membership in the  RGGI— measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the state. Jones called the state’s withdrawal from RGGI “patently illegal” and doubled down on his support of  the VCEA, which set benchmarks for utility companies to phase out fossil fuel reliance over time.

Jones also called for the state to “hold our biggest corporate polluter accountable — that’s Dominion Energy,” and bashed Miyares for accepting campaign donations from the utility. 

Criminal justice 

Miyares reminded the audience several times that Jones voted in favor of a law allowing inmates with good behavior to trim their prison sentences, casting it as evidence of Jones being a “criminal-first, victim-last politician.” 

Of the 19% of people who were released with the earned sentence credits that were reconvicted last year in the demographic, 5% were reincarcerated, Virginia Department of Corrections data shows.

While neither man followed through for an interview when The Mercury recently examined the program’s effectiveness, several beneficiaries said it gave them the chance to live fulfilling, responsible lives. 

Jones said he would prioritize protecting civil rights and Virginia communities. He also referenced his three-point public safety plan, which he said was created in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials.

Housing rights

On housing, Jones prodded Miyares about a 2022 investigation he inherited from former Attorney General Mark Herring regarding an apartment complex in Richmond where  predominantly Latino and immigrant tenants complained of mismanagement and discrimination. When he first took office, Miyares  fired staff members that had been involved in the case and a recent FOIA request revealed that the investigation had been closed, citing “inconclusive” evidence. 

Miyares countered that his office won a discrimination case where a vacation rental home landlord evicted a family due to one of its members being Black, lauding it as the biggest victory against housing discrimination in the state’s history. 

Higher education

The men shared thoughts about Virginia’s colleges and universities, which have been roiled this year by shifting federal standards and mandates to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The University of Virginia is currently deliberating a compact proposed by the Trump administration which would give the school funding in exchange for adhering to a set of operating requirements that state legislators have described as “political extortion.”

When pressed on how the attorney general should “balance academic freedom, public safety and political influence from Washington, D.C. when advising Virginia universities,” Miyares said that he is a product of Virginia universities who is committed to protecting them. He said he couldn’t outline how he advised Virginia universities in these matters due to attorney-client privilege. 

“What we know about his attorney-client privilege is that it runs straight to Donald Trump,” Jones said, noting his experience as a UVA law alumni. He promised to defend Virginia colleges and universities against federal overreach and said he has a “vested interest in making sure our higher education system remains the best in the country.” 

Looking ahead

Amid federal workforce layoffs, an ever-shifting national landscape of health care and reproductive rights laws, and Virginia’s own economic status, the next attorney general will serve as the state’s top lawyer for constituents and counsel to the next governor. 

Miyares expressed his wish to continue serving in this role and pointed to decreased crime rates under his watch, while Jones leaned on his experience defending civil liberties and sought a chance to lead the attorney general’s office with a fresh vision for the future. Voters will choose one man for the role, with early voting underway and Election Day on Nov. 4. Learn more about the candidates’ positions, and hear from gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates, in our voter guide.

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.