Former Secretary of State Jay Jones announces a new candidate for the VA. attorney general

NORFOLK, Va. – Former state Rep. Jay Jones announced a new candidate for Virginia attorney general Tuesday morning.

Jones, a Democrat, represented parts of Norfolk in the House of Representatives from 2018 to 2021 before resigning to focus on his family.

He ran for attorney general in 2021, but lost in the Democratic primary to then-Attorney General Mark Herring.

Jones was surrounded by fellow Democrats as he made the announcement on the steps of Norfolk City Hall.

“I’m running because we need an attorney general who is focused on protecting the people of Virginia, not on a personal, partisan agenda. As your Attorney General, I will protect Virginia’s families, our children, and our most vulnerable,” he said. “We will crack down on those who seek to harm our children by working with law enforcement to take illegal guns off our streets, shut down drug traffickers, and hold accountable manufacturers whose weapons of war are used to commit mass shootings and crime.”

Jones will face each other in the primaries in June 2025. Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Tyler is the only other Democrat running for office so far.

Current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has not announced whether he will run for re-election.

In a Tweet Tuesday morningMiyares called the Democrats in the race “far-left” and “anti-police.”

The general election will take place in November 2025.