Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Monday announced he will seek reelection, officially ending speculation he would launch a gubernatorial bid in an effort to maintain Republican control over the Executive Mansion, as Governor Glenn Youngkin is prevented from seeking a second consecutive term by the Virginia Constitution.
Miyares announced his reelection bid in a post to the social media platform X, where he wrote, “We are not going back to the failed policies of the past; our families’ safety and Virginia’s future depends on it.”
In his announcement video, Miyares alluded to the defund the police and criminal justice reform movements supported by Democrats, arguing they make Virginia families less safe.
“We cannot allow Virginia to return to the dangerous, failed policies of the past, where our law enforcement heroes are reviled, where criminals came first while victims come last,” said Miyares. “We can’t return to the failed policies of the past because the safety of our families and the future of Virginia is at stake.”
I am running for re-election as Attorney General.
As Attorney General, I’ve deployed every tool available to keep Virginians safe and violent criminals off our streets.
We are not going back to the failed policies of the past; our families’ safety and Virginia’s future… pic.twitter.com/ifsMv7YwkG
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) November 18, 2024
The only Democrat who has announced plans to run for attorney general is former Delegate Jay Jones (D-Norfolk), who declared his candidacy last week.
Youngkin immediately endorsed both Miyares and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who announced her candidacy for governor in September.
“In 2021 Winsome, Jason, and I ran as a team and we have served Virginians as a team,” said Youngkin in a statement posted to X. “In 2025, Winsome and Jason will once again lead the Republican team as candidates for Governor and Attorney General.”
After declaring Earle-Sears and Miyares “indispensable parters” to his administration, Youngkin said, “There could not be a better team to carry on our success for Virginians for the next four years.”
The decision by Miyares comes despite speculation that the attorney general was considering running against Earle-Sears to secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination after he spoke at a rally for President-elect Donald Trump, where the lieutenant governor was reportedly not invited by the Trump campaign.
In his remarks to the press at that July rally, Miyares said he would not announce any decision about his future in politics until after the November elections.
Despite her tepid relationship with Trump, having urged the Republican Party against making him its presidential nominee, called him a political “liability,” and reportedly declined to endorse him during the 2024 presidential campaign, Earle-Sears is currently the only Republican running for governor who is currently elected to office. She is likely to face Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), the former U.S. intelligence officer who announced last year she would leave Congress in favor of pursuing a gubernatorial bid.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jason Miyares” by Jason Miyares.
