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Jay Jones (politician)

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Jay Jones (politician)

Jerrauld Charles Corey "Jay" Jones (born March 14, 1989) is an American politician and attorney who is the attorney general-elect of Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 89th district from 2018 to 2022. Jones was born in Norfolk son to Jerrauld Jones judge of Norfolk's circuit court and attended Norfolk Collegiate School. While in law school, Jones interned in the office of state delegate Algie Howell. He previously worked in risk management for various companies. Jones ran for the seat in 2021, losing the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring, despite receiving an endorsement from governor Ralph Northam. Jones announced his candidacy for the Democratic primary on November 12. He campaigned against the 2025 United States federal mass layoffs, and against cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. He defeated Shannon Taylor in the primary. For the 2025 election Jones attempted to make the election into a referendum on Donald Trump and the conservative policies of his predecessor Jason Miyares. During his campaign for attorney general, Jones received widespread condemnation after text messages from 2022 surfaced in which he vented by joking about violence against the then-state house speaker Todd Gilbert and wishing death upon his children, while deriding a moderate Democrat who had received eulogies from Republicans. Despite the controversy, Jones won the 2025 Virginia Attorney General election in a blue wave by a six percentage point margin. Jones will be the first African American to serve as the Attorney General of Virginia.

Infobox

Governor
Abigail Spanberger (elect)
Succeeding
Jason Miyares
Preceded by
Daun Hester
Succeeded by
Jackie Glass
Born
Jerrauld Charles Corey Jones (1989-03-14) March 14, 1989 (age 36)Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
mw- Mavis Baah (m. 2020)
Children
2
Relatives
Jerrauld Jones (father)
Education
College of William and Mary (BA)University of Virginia (JD)
Website
Campaign website

Tables

· Electoral history
June 13, 2017
June 13, 2017
Date
June 13, 2017
Election
Primary
Candidate
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Party
Democratic
Votes
5,242
%
66.19
Joe W. Dillard
Joe W. Dillard
Date
Joe W. Dillard
Election
Democratic
Candidate
2,678
Party
33.81
Daun Sessoms Hester did not seek re-election
Daun Sessoms Hester did not seek re-election
Date
Daun Sessoms Hester did not seek re-election
November 7, 2017
November 7, 2017
Date
November 7, 2017
Election
General
Candidate
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Party
Democratic
Votes
16,541
%
84.49
Terry Hurst
Terry Hurst
Date
Terry Hurst
Election
Libertarian
Candidate
2,944
Party
15.04
Write Ins
Write Ins
Date
Write Ins
Election
97
Candidate
0.47
November 5, 2019
November 5, 2019
Date
November 5, 2019
Election
General
Candidate
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Party
Democratic
Votes
14,398
%
96.18
Write Ins
Write Ins
Date
Write Ins
Election
571
Candidate
3.82
November 2, 2021
November 2, 2021
Date
November 2, 2021
Election
General
Candidate
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Party
Democratic
Votes
17,450
%
79.85
Hahns Copeland
Hahns Copeland
Date
Hahns Copeland
Election
Republican
Candidate
4,340
Party
19.86
Write Ins
Write Ins
Date
Write Ins
Election
63
Candidate
0.29
Date
Election
Candidate
Party
Votes
%
Virginia House of Delegates, 89th district
June 13, 2017
Primary
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Democratic
5,242
66.19
Joe W. Dillard
Democratic
2,678
33.81
Daun Sessoms Hester did not seek re-election
November 7, 2017
General
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Democratic
16,541
84.49
Terry Hurst
Libertarian
2,944
15.04
Write Ins
97
0.47
November 5, 2019
General
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Democratic
14,398
96.18
Write Ins
571
3.82
November 2, 2021
General
Jerrauld "Jay" Jones
Democratic
17,450
79.85
Hahns Copeland
Republican
4,340
19.86
Write Ins
63
0.29
2021 Virginia Attorney General election Democratic primary results[57] · Electoral history
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
485,101
Candidate
100.00
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Mark Herring (incumbent)
274,736
56.63
Democratic
Jay Jones
210,365
43.37
Total votes
485,101
100.00
2025 Virginia Attorney General election Democratic primary[3] · Electoral history
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
494,945
Candidate
100.00
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Jay Jones
252,976
51.11
Democratic
Shannon Taylor
241,969
48.89
Total votes
494,945
100.00
2025 Virginia Attorney General election general election[58] · Electoral history
Total votes
Total votes
Party
Total votes
Party
3,348,241
Candidate
100.00
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Jay Jones
1,770,448
52.88%
Republican
Jason Miyares (incumbent)
1,564,284
46.72%
Write-in
13,509
0.40%
Total votes
3,348,241
100.00
Democratic gain from Republican
· External links
Preceded byMark Herring
Preceded byMark Herring
Party political offices
Preceded byMark Herring
Party political offices
Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virginia 2025
Party political offices
Most recent
Legal offices
Legal offices
Party political offices
Legal offices
Preceded byJason Miyares
Preceded byJason Miyares
Party political offices
Preceded byJason Miyares
Party political offices
Attorney General of Virginia Taking office 2026
Party political offices
Elect
Party political offices
Preceded byMark Herring
Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virginia 2025
Most recent
Legal offices
Preceded byJason Miyares
Attorney General of Virginia Taking office 2026
Elect

References

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  4. The Virginian-Pilot
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  5. "Former Virginia delegate Jay Jones launches second bid for attorney general"
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  26. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/17/us/elections/results-virginia-attorney-general-primary.html
  27. "Governor Terry McAuliffe Joins Virginians for Jay Jones"
    https://www.jayjones.com/2024/05/21/va4jj-mcauliffe/
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    https://x.com/NRO/status/1974199234254811622
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    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democratic-candidate-virginia-attorney-general-jay-jones-text-messages-rcna235573
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  35. CNN News18
    https://www.news18.com/world/jay-jones-leaked-text-messages-virginia-attorney-general-nominee-virginia-house-speaker-shooting-urinating-on-grave-messages-9613214.html
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    https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/10/03/jones-texts-virginia-attorney-general/
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  39. National Review
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  49. WJLA
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  50. The Virginian-Pilot
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  54. Results.elections.virginia.gov
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  56. results.elections.virginia.gov
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  58. Virginia Department of Elections
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