Jay Jones

Last updated

Mavis Baah
​
(m. 2020)​
Jay Jones
Jay Jones Speaks at rally in Fairfax City (cropped).png
Jones in 2025
Attorney General-elect of Virginia
Assuming office
January 17, 2026
Children2
Relatives Jerrauld Jones (father)
Education College of William & Mary (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)
Website Campaign website

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. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Born in Norfolk, Jones is the son of former Norfolk Circuit Court judge Jerrauld Jones. He graduated from the College of William & Mary and the University of Virginia. [4] While in law school, Jones interned in the office of state delegate Algie Howell. [4] He previously worked in risk management for various companies before being elected to the House of Delegates in 2017. [5] After he was elected to the House of Delegates in 2017, Jones ran for Attorney General in 2021, losing the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring, despite receiving an endorsement from governor Ralph Northam. [6] [7] [8] Jones announced his candidacy for the 2025 Virginia Attorney General election in November 2024. [5] He defeated Shannon Taylor in the Democratic primary and incumbent Republican Jason Miyares in the general election. Jones campaigned on opposition to president Donald Trump and the policies of Miyares. [9]

During his campaign for attorney general, Jones received widespread condemnation after text messages from 2022 were released by the National Review, in which he advocated violence against the then–state house speaker Todd Gilbert and wished for him to experience the death of his children, while deriding a moderate Democrat who had received eulogies from Republicans. [10] [11] [12] Despite the controversy, Jones won the election by a six point margin, [13] [14] he will be the first African American to serve as the attorney general. [15]

Early life and education

Jones was born in Norfolk to family court judge Lyn M. Simmons and Jerrauld Jones, a presiding judge for Norfolk's circuit court who held the 89th district seat in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1988 to 2002. [4] His paternal grandparents are Hilary H. Jones Jr. (an attorney and civil rights pioneer in Norfolk) [16] and Corinne D. Jones (a Norfolk school teacher). His maternal grandparents are Charles and Margaret Simmons, who were tenured professors at Norfolk State University and Hampton University, respectively.

Jones attended Norfolk Collegiate School and graduated in 2006. He then went on to attend the College of William & Mary as a William & Mary Scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and history. [16] During college, Jones served as a legislative intern for Paula Miller in 2009.

Early career

After college, Jones spent two years in New York as an associate with Goldman Sachs, where he focused on risk management and credit rating advisory, focusing on natural resources and technology companies. [5] He then returned to Virginia and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2015. While in law school, Jones interned in the office of state delegate Algie Howell. [4]

Virginia House of Delegates

On February 13, 2017, Jones announced his candidacy for the 89th district of the Virginia House of Delegates, running for the same seat his father held from 1988 to 2002. [17] The incumbent, Daun Hester, announced she would not run for reelection. [16] He won the contested Democratic primary on June 13, 2017, [18] and won the November 7, 2017 general election against Libertarian Terry Hurst. [19] [20] [21]

He ran for reelection unopposed in the 2019 election cycle. [22] Jones was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee at the beginning of his second term. In September 2019, Jones endorsed Cory Booker in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. [23]

In January 2022, Jones resigned from the Virginia House of Delegates following the announcement that he and his wife were expecting their first child in summer 2022. Fellow Democrat Jackie Glass was elected to succeed him in a special election held on January 11, 2022. [24] [25]

Elections

2021

Jones was a candidate in the Democratic primary in the 2021 Virginia Attorney General election, where he faced incumbent Mark Herring. [6] Jones criticized Herring over the incumbent's blackface controversy. Jones lost the June 8, 2021 primary to Herring. [8]

2025

Jones ran for and won the Democratic nomination for the 2025 Virginia Attorney General election against Shannon Taylor. [26] He defeated Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in the general election. [13] [14]

In May 2024, Jones would be endorsed by former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. [27]

Violent messages and subsequent fallout

In October 2025, Jones came under fire for an August 2022 text message conversation with his former Republican delegate colleague Carrie Coyner, in which Jones made "threatening messages" and used "graphic and violent language" against the then–state house speaker Todd Gilbert and his family. [28] [29] Jones, who was not in the legislature at the time, stated that if he had two bullets and could shoot Gilbert, Adolf Hitler, or Pol Pot, Gilbert "gets two bullets to the head". [30] [31] Jones acknowledged that he had talked about hoping Gilbert's children would die because "Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy", before describing Gilbert and his wife as "evil" and "breeding little fascists". [32] [33] [34]

The impetus for Jones's texts to Coyner was his anger at the tributes Republican legislators had for former delegate Joseph P. Johnson, a moderate Democrat, who had recently died, with Jones disparaging "Johnson's political centrism". [35] [36] Jones said of Republican legislators who gave tributes about Johnson that "If those guys die before me I will go to their funerals to piss on their graves" and said that it will "Send them out awash in something". [37] [36] [38]

Jones at a rally with Abigail Spanberger and Ghazala Hashmi in Fairfax City Jay Jones, Ghazala Hashmi and Abigail Spanberger at a bus rally in Fairfax City.png
Jones at a rally with Abigail Spanberger and Ghazala Hashmi in Fairfax City

The comments were made public by National Review in October 2025 during Jones' campaign for Attorney General, and received bipartisan condemnation, including by fellow Democratic nominees former representative Abigail Spanberger and state senator Ghazala Hashmi. [39] Numerous prominent Republicans, including president Donald Trump, vice president JD Vance, governor Glenn Youngkin, and Republican gubernatorial nominee lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears have all requested for Jones to drop out of the election due to these messages. [40] [41] Jones has acknowledged that he sent these texts and apologized to Gilbert and his family. Jason Miyares publicly stated that he "does not accept his apology", stating that Jones "had a chance then to apologize", and that he "is sorry only after it made the news". [42]

After the story broke, Coyner said in an interview that Jones made charged comments during a phone conversation on qualified immunity in 2020. [43] [44] [45] Jones allegedly said "if a few police officers died, then maybe they would stop killing people". [44] Jones denied making the comment. [44]

After the comments were publicly disclosed, polling conducted showed that the race was narrowing, with results indicating a statistical tie or his opponent leading, marking a shift from his earlier lead that received notable coverage in reporting on the campaign. [46] [47] Most undecided voters, however, ended up supporting Jones, with most independent voters leaning towards Jones as shown in the final polls. [48] [49] Jones's strong performance with undecided voters is likely an example of social-desirability bias, also known as shy voter syndrome, where people are hesitant to reveal their voting preferences for candidates involved in scandals. [50]

Reckless driving conviction and investigation

On January 21, 2022, a year after his first run for attorney general, a Virginia State Trooper clocked him speeding on Interstate 64 at 116 miles per hour – 46 over the speed limit – resulting in a reckless driving conviction in New Kent County. Of the 1,000 hours of community service he performed as part of his plea deal, 500 were for his own political action committee and the other 500 were for the NAACP Virginia State Conference. [51] [52] On October 22, 2025, a New Kent County circuit court judge approved a special prosecutor to investigate Jones's plea deal. [53] [54] On October 25, 2025, a new special prosecutor was appointed after the previous one recused himself. [55]

Virginia Attorney General

Jones selected former Democratic governor Ralph Northam to co-chair his transition effort. [56] He also spoke with Democratic governor-elect Abigail Spanberger to help ease tensions between the two during his transition period, and they discussed public safety measures in the Commonwealth. [56] One of his first actions upon being Attorney General-elect was to seek an extension to Virginia's universal background check gun laws after a Lynchburg Circuit Court ruled it unconstitutionally discriminated against adults aged 18 to 20. Miyares had previously declined to appeal the decision. [57]

Personal life

Jones is Catholic. He is a lifelong member of the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk. [58]

Jones was introduced by a friend to public relations media manager Mavis Baah in 2017. [59] They married in September 2020. The couple has two sons. Baah is the daughter of Janna Baah from Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Anthony Baah from Accra, Ghana. The Baah family immigrated to the United States when Mavis was five years old. [4] [59]

Electoral history

DateElectionCandidatePartyVotes%
Virginia House of Delegates, 89th district
June 13, 2017 [60] Primary Jerrauld "Jay" Jones Democratic 5,24266.19
Joe W. Dillard Democratic 2,67833.81
Daun Sessoms Hester did not seek re-election
November 7, 2017 [61] General Jerrauld "Jay" Jones Democratic 16,54184.49
Terry Hurst Libertarian 2,94415.04
Write Ins970.47
November 5, 2019 [62] GeneralJerrauld "Jay" JonesDemocratic14,39896.18
Write Ins5713.82
November 2, 2021 [63] GeneralJerrauld "Jay" Jones Democratic 17,45079.85
Hahns Copeland Republican 4,34019.86
Write Ins630.29
2021 Virginia Attorney General election Democratic primary results [64]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mark Herring (incumbent) 274,736 56.63
Democratic Jay Jones210,36543.37
Total votes485,101 100.00
2025 Virginia Attorney General election Democratic primary [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jay Jones 252,976 51.11
Democratic Shannon Taylor 241,96948.89
Total votes494,945 100.00
2025 Virginia Attorney General election general election [65]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Jay Jones 1,770,448 52.88%
Republican Jason Miyares (incumbent)1,564,28446.72%
Write-in 13,5090.40%
Total votes3,348,241 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

References

  1. ↑ "Bischoff – Martingayle » Jerrauld C.C. "Jay" Jones". bischoffmartingayle.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Attorney General Results 2025". NBC News. November 4, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "2025 June Democratic Primary". Virginia Department of Elections. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mavis Baah Jones, 32, public relations and media manager, PRA Group | Top 40 Under 40". The Virginian-Pilot. October 12, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Markus Schmidt (November 12, 2025). "Former Virginia delegate Jay Jones launches second bid for attorney general".
  6. 1 2 Schneider, Gregory. "Norfolk Del. Jay Jones announces bid for Democratic nomination for Virginia attorney general". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  7. ↑ Otey, Jazmine (March 4, 2021). "Gov. Ralph Northam endorses Jay Jones over incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring". WSLS. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "DDHQ Election Results". results.decisiondeskhq.com. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ "6 takeaways from the debate in Virginia AG race rocked by a texting scandal". washingtonpost.com.
  10. ↑ Smith, John (October 4, 2025). "Virginia Elections: Jay Jones's Texts Spark Outrage". Politico. Retrieved October 26, 2023. .
  11. ↑ "Jones fallout". Politico. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  12. ↑ Manchester, Manchester (October 6, 2025). "Pressure grows on Virginia Democratic candidate to quit after violent text messages".
  13. 1 2 "Democrat Jay Jones wins Virginia AG race, overcoming backlash to his violent texts". NBC News .
  14. 1 2 Schmidt, Markus (November 5, 2025). "Blue wave rebuilds the House: Democrats soar to at least 64 seats in Virginia • Virginia Mercury".
  15. ↑ Murphy, Ryan (November 5, 2025). "Norfolk Democrat Jay Jones wins, will become Virginia's first Black Attorney General". WHRO Public Media.
  16. 1 2 3 "Jerrauld 'Jay' Jones To Run For 89th Delegate". New Journal and Guide . February 16, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  17. ↑ 89th district: Elections. Virginia Public Access Project site
  18. ↑ "Jay Jones wins big in 89th House District Democratic primary". The Virginian-Pilot =. June 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Jones wins Virginia House of Delegates 89th District". The Virginian-Pilot . November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  20. ↑ Virginia Elections Database: district 89 at Virginia Department of Elections site
  21. ↑ 2017 election results for 89th district at Virginia Public Access Project site
  22. ↑ "Virginia Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2019. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  23. ↑ Feld, Lowell (September 11, 2019). "Virginia Del. Jay Jones (D-HD89) Endorses Cory Booker for President; Booker Plans Trip to Virginia "In the Coming Weeks."". Blue Virginia. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  24. ↑ Sullivan, Ali (December 17, 2021). "Special election to fill Jay Jones' 89th District seat set for Jan. 11". pilotonline.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Glass projected to win special election for 89th House of Delegates seat, Dolmo concedes". January 11, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Virginia Attorney General Primary Election Results". The New York Times. June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Governor Terry McAuliffe Joins Virginians for Jay Jones". jayjones.com. May 21, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  28. ↑ Qin, Amy (October 4, 2025). "In Virginia A.G. Debate, Spotlight Is on Democratic Candidate's Violent Texts". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2025. Jones apologized for his threatening messages
  29. ↑ Bradner, Eric (October 4, 2025). "Jay Jones' violent text messages take center stage in Virginia AG race debate against Jason Miyares". CNN. Retrieved October 4, 2025. The graphic and violent language directed at a colleague in text messages
  30. ↑ @NRO (October 3, 2025). "National Review" (Tweet). Retrieved October 4, 2025– via Twitter.
  31. ↑ "Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general once suggested a top Republican should get 'bullets to the head,' text messages show". NBC News. October 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  32. ↑ Seltzer, Kate (October 3, 2025). "Jay Jones texts from 2022 describe wanting to shoot former Virginia House speaker". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on October 3, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  33. ↑ Bryson, Anna (October 3, 2025). "In 2022, Jay Jones texted about shooting House Speaker Todd Gilbert". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 3, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  34. ↑ Svirnovskiy, Gregory (October 4, 2025). "Democratic candidate's 'abhorrent' texts threaten to shake up bellwether Virginia elections". Politico. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  35. ↑ McKend, Eva (October 4, 2025). "Virginia's Democratic nominee for attorney general facing pressure over resurfaced text messages". CNN. Retrieved October 7, 2025. Jones was objecting to tributes of deceased former state legislator Joe Johnson Jr., who was a longtime moderate Democrat
  36. 1 2 Fahlberg, Audrey (October 3, 2025). "Dem AG Nominee Jay Jones Fantasized About Shooting Former Virginia GOP Speaker: 'He Receives Both Bullets'". National Review. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  37. ↑ Mehrotra, Vani (October 4, 2025). "'Piss On Their Graves': Virginia Attorney General Nominee Jay Jones Under Fire Over Leaked Texts". CNN News18. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  38. ↑ Armus, Teo; Cox, Erin; Schneider, Gregory S. (October 3, 2025). "Jay Jones's 2022 text messages roil race for Virginia attorney general". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  39. ↑ Atkinson, Bill (October 3, 2025). "VA Democratic AG candidate under fire for texts about GOP colleague". The News Leader. Archived from the original on October 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  40. ↑ Strack, Haley (October 5, 2025). "Trump Demands Jay Jones Drop Out of Virginia AG Race over 'Demented' Texts". National Review. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  41. ↑ Strack, Haley (October 5, 2025). "Pressure Builds on Virginia Dems to Force Jay Jones Out of AG Race over Violent Texts". National Review. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  42. ↑ Montilla, Desiree (October 7, 2025). "Jason Miyares reacts to Jay Jones' 'disturbing' 2022 text messages". WWBT. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  43. ↑ Nichols, Hans (October 7, 2025). "Scoop: Jay Jones cancels Virginia fundraiser amid "two bullets" backlash". Axios. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  44. 1 2 3 Manchester, Julia (October 6, 2025). "Pressure grows on Virginia Democratic candidate to quit after violent text messages". The Hill. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  45. ↑ Laris, Michael (October 6, 2025). "Trump joins Republicans calling for Jay Jones to exit Virginia race". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Poll: Support for Jay Jones drops in VA Attorney General race after texts leak". WSET. October 5, 2025. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  47. ↑ "2025 Virginia Attorney General: Miyares vs. Jones". RealClearPolling. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  48. ↑ Yancey, Dwayne (November 14, 2025). "The polls said the attorney general's race would be close. It wasn't. Here's what happened".
  49. ↑ Wetmore, Spencer Lieb, Leo Johnson, and Celeste (December 11, 2025). "Polling Accuracy in the 2025 Elections: Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  50. ↑ "Jay Jones polls reveal impact of leaked texts on Virginia AG race". University of Virginia Center for Politics. December 11, 2025. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  51. ↑ Bryson, Anna (October 1, 2025). "Jay Jones was convicted of reckless driving after speeding at 116 mph". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 1, 2025. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  52. ↑ Fitzgerald, Bill (October 3, 2025). "Threatening Texts: Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones issues apology". CBS 6 News Richmond WTVR. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  53. ↑ Minock, Nick (October 22, 2025). "Special prosecutor appointed in Jay Jones reckless driving community service investigation". WJLA. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  54. ↑ Harper, Jane (October 22, 2025). "Special prosecutor appointed to investigate Jay Jones 2022 reckless driving case in New Kent". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  55. ↑ Dujardin, Peter (October 4, 2025). "Prosecutor assigned to Jay Jones speeding and service case". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  56. 1 2 Qin, Amy (October 4, 2025). "Jay Jones prepares to take office — and put his violent text scandal behind him". NBC News. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  57. ↑ Stanbridge, Alexia (December 10, 2025). "Attorney General-elect Jay Jones seeks extension in Virginia gun law appeal". WSET.
  58. ↑ "Jay Jones | VIRGINIA". va.onair.cc. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  59. 1 2 Mallozzi, Vincent M. (October 2, 2020). "Their Matchmaker Was Right". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  60. ↑ "2017 June Democratic Primary". Results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  61. ↑ "2017 November General". Results.elections.virginia.gov. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  62. ↑ "Virginia Election Results: November 5, 2019". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  63. ↑ "2021 November General". results.elections.virginia.gov. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  64. ↑ "2021 June Democratic Primary". Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  65. ↑ "Statewide Offices". Virginia Department of Elections. July 9, 2025.
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