Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares joins President Donald Trump onstage during a rally at Greenbrier Farms on June 28, 2024 in Chesapeake, Virginia. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Miyares, the first Hispanic American to be elected to a statewide office in Virginia and the first child of an immigrant to be attorney general, has been supportive of Trump's agenda in Virginia – whereas Democratic attorneys general across the United States have led the judicial challenge to Trump's executive authority.
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Jones and his competitor, Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor, both tried to capitalize on primary voters’ anger over the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal government, including massive layoffs through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Jones, a former assistant attorney general, identified his top campaign issue as protecting Virginia from the Trump administration.
"Donald Trump is waging an unprecedented assault on Virginia communities, jobs, and even civil rights," Jones included in a statement on his campaign website.
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump in a Tesla Model S vehicle on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on March 11, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Taylor's first campaign ad featured images of Trump buying a Tesla at the White House and Elon Musk holding up a chainsaw at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
"I'm running for Attorney General to beat back Trump and Musk," Taylor said.
Virginia's elections will be used by political pundits and politicians as a bellwether for competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. They are an early opportunity to gauge how Americans are responding to Trump's second term, and see how they might vote next year when a congressional majority is on the line.
Virginia is one of two gubernatorial elections in the United States this year, along with New Jersey, which held their primary election last week.
Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Miyares, sits in his office January 19, 2022, in Richmond, Virginia. (The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Commonwealth Republicans broke a 12-year losing streak to the Democrats when they swept the elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in Virginia four years ago.
But Republicans haven't won the commonwealth in a White House contest since 2004.
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Trump lost the state by six points in last November's presidential election, which was a four-point improvement from his 2020 defeat.
Still, Republicans are expected to face an upward battle in November. With only one exception since 1977, the party that holds the White House has lost Virginia's gubernatorial election.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-democrats-choose-nominee-challenge-gop-attorney-general-jason-miyares