# 2021 Virginia Attorney General election

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vte :
The 2021 Virginia attorney general election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next attorney general of Virginia. Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring attempted to win a third term. Herring initially planned to run for governor, but decided to run for re-election. Herring faced Republican nominee Jason Miyares in the general election. Herring conceded defeat at 5:02 PM EST the following day, November 3. Miyares became the first Cuban-American and Hispanic to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. Miyares was later sworn in on January 15, 2022.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominee

* Mark Herring, incumbent attorney general

#### Eliminated in primary

* Jay Jones, state delegate for Virginia's 89th House of Delegates district

#### Declined

* Shannon Taylor, Henrico County commonwealth's attorney

#### Endorsements
##### Federal officials

* Don Beyer, U.S. Representative (VA-08) and former Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
* Gerry Connolly, U.S. Representative (VA-11)
State senators
* Jennifer Boysko, state senator (D-33)
* Ghazala Hashmi, state senator (D-10)
* L. Louise Lucas, President pro tempore (D-18)
State delegates
* Eileen Filler-Corn, Speaker of the House of Delegates
* Charniele Herring, House Majority Leader
* Dawn Adams, state delegate (D-68)
* David Bulova, state delegate (D-37)
* Betsy Carr, state delegate (D-69)
* Karrie Delaney, state delegate (D-67)
* Wendy Gooditis, state delegate (D-10)
* Alfonso H. Lopez, state delegate (D-49)
* Delores McQuinn, state delegate (D-70)
* Ken Plum, state delegate (D-36)
* Rip Sullivan, state delegate (D-48)
* Mark Sickles, state delegate (D-43)
* Vivian Watts, state delegate (D-39)
* Rodney Willett, state delegate (D-73)
Local officials
* Phyllis Randall, Chair, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
* Shannon Taylor, Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney
Organizations
* Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Jones)
Unions
* Virginia Professional Fire Fighters

##### Federal officials

* Cory Booker, U.S. Senator (D-NJ)
* Elaine Luria, U.S. Representative (VA-02)
* Bobby Scott, U.S. Representative (VA-03)
Governors
* Ralph Northam, Governor of Virginia
State senators
* John Bell, state senator (D-13)
* Lynwood Lewis, state senator (D-6)
* Mamie Locke, state senator (D-2)
* Monty Mason, state senator (D-1)
* Joe Morrissey, state senator (D-16)
* Lionell Spruill, state senator (D-5)
State delegates
* Lashrecse Aird, state delegate (D-63)
* Alex Askew, state delegate (D-85)
* Lamont Bagby, state delegate (D-74)
* Jeff Bourne, state delegate (D-71)
* Joshua G. Cole, state delegate (D-28)
* Kelly Fowler, state delegate (D-21)
* Wendy Gooditis, state delegate (D-10)
* Nancy Guy, state delegate (D-83)
* Cliff Hayes, state delegate (D-77)
* Steve Heretick, state delegate (D-79)
* Patrick Hope, state delegate (D-47)
* Chris Hurst, state delegate (D-12)
* Clint Jenkins, state delegate (D-76)
* Mark Keam, state delegate (D-35)
* Kaye Kory, state delegate (D-38)
* Paul Krizek, state delegate (D-44)
* Martha Mugler, state delegate (D-91)
* Michael P. Mullin, state delegate (D-93)
* Kathleen Murphy, state delegate (D-34)
* Marcia Price, state delegate (D-95)
* David A. Reid, state delegate (D-32)
* Ibraheem Samirah, state delegate (D-86)
* Don Scott, state delegate (D-80)
* Marcus Simon, state delegate (D-53)
* Shelly Simonds, state delegate (D-94)
* Luke Torian, state delegate (D-52)
* Roslyn Tyler, state delegate (D-75)
* Schuyler VanValkenburg, state delegate (D-72)
Former delegates
* Ward Armstrong, Former House Democratic Minority Leader (Martinsville)
* Dick Cranwell, Former House Democratic Majority and Minority Leader (Vinton)
* Albert C. Pollard (Irvington)
* Debra Rodman (Henrico)
* David Toscano, Former House Democratic Minority Leader (Charlottesville)
Local officials
* Levar Stoney, Richmond mayor and former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia
Individuals
* Mary Sue Terry, former Attorney General of Virginia
Organizations
* Democracy for America
* Moms Demand Action (co-endorsed with Herring)
* Our Black Party

### Debates

Mark Herring and Jay Jones agreed to one debate. The debate started off with Mark Herring started off talking about his record and saying what he has done about certain cases vs what Jones was doing at the time. Jay Jones started off talking about his endorsement from Governor at the time, Ralph Northam, and claiming Herring's past didn't matter for what was happening in the present.
2021 Virginia Democratic Primary for Attorney General :
| No. | Date | Host | Link | Participants | Participants |
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Jay Jones | Mark Herring* |
| 1 | May 15, 2021 | WTVR CBS 6 | | P | P |
Issues Herring and Jones agreed on almost every issue asked to them. When the rebuttals came though, Herring would often claim that Jones didn't support something when he was on the legislature and Jones would point to an example where they agreed on it in the past. When Jones rebutted Herring, Jones claimed that Herring didn't begin on the issue until it was in the political atmosphere.
Here are a couple examples below.
Support Prosecuting Price Gougers (relating to the issue of Colonial Pipeline hacking) :
| Herring | Jones |
| Supports | Supports |
Defend the VEC that didn't pay benefits to Virginians :
| Herring | Jones |
| Opposes | Opposes |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mark Herring | Jay Jones | Other | Undecided |
| Roanoke College | May 24 – June 1, 2021 | 637 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 49% | 20% | – | 31% |
| Christopher Newport University | April 11–20, 2021 | 806 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 42% | 18% | 1% | 39% |

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Mark Herring (incumbent) | 274,736 | 56.63 |
| | Democratic | Jay Jones | 210,365 | 43.37 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 485,101 | 100.00 |

## Republican convention
### Candidates
#### Nominated at convention

* Jason Miyares, state delegate for Virginia's 82nd House of Delegates district

#### Defeated at convention

* Leslie Haley, Chesterfield County supervisor
* Chuck Smith, attorney, nominee for Virginia's 3rd congressional district in 2010, and candidate for Attorney General in 2017
* Jack L. White, conservative attorney, former Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Alito, West Point graduate, Army veteran, and ordained minister

#### Declined

* Bill Stanley, state senator for Virginia's 20th Senate district

### Results

Virginia GOP Convention, Attorney General Nominee :
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 3 |
| Candidate | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Jason Miyares | 4,590 | 36.6% | 5,297 | 42.2% | 6,490 | 51.7% |
| Chuck Smith | 4,324 | 34.4% | 4,975 | 39.6% | 6,064 | 48.3% |
| Jack White | 1,872 | 14.9% | 2,282 | 18.2% | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Leslie Haley | 1,768 | 14.1% | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |

## General election
### Endorsements
#### Federal officials

* Joe Biden, President of the United States
* Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
* Barack Obama, former President of the United States
* Don Beyer, U.S. Representative (VA-08) and former Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
* Gerry Connolly, U.S. Representative (VA-11)
State senators
* Jennifer Boysko, state senator (D-33)
* Ghazala Hashmi, state senator (D-10)
* L. Louise Lucas, President pro tempore (D-18)
State delegates
* Eileen Filler-Corn, Speaker of the House of Delegates
* Charniele Herring, House Majority Leader
* Dawn Adams, state delegate (D-68)
* David Bulova, state delegate (D-37)
* Betsy Carr, state delegate (D-69)
* Karrie Delaney, state delegate (D-67)
* Wendy Gooditis, state delegate (D-10)
* Alfonso H. Lopez, state delegate (D-49)
* Delores McQuinn, state delegate (D-70)
* Ken Plum, state delegate (D-36)
* Rip Sullivan, state delegate (D-48)
* Mark Sickles, state delegate (D-43)
* Vivian Watts, state delegate (D-39)
* Rodney Willett, state delegate (D-73)
Local officials
* Phyllis Randall, Chair, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
* Shannon Taylor, Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney
Organizations
* Human Rights Campaign
* Moms Demand Action
Unions
* Virginia Professional Fire Fighters
Governors
* George Allen, former U.S. Senator from Virginia (2001–2007), former Governor of Virginia (1994–1998)
Federal officials
* Ben Cline, U.S. Representative for Virginia's 6th congressional district and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates
* Ken Cuccinelli, Principal Deputy Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (2019–2021), Attorney General of Virginia (2010–2014), nominee for Governor of Virginia in 2013
* Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida (2011–present)
State senators
* John Cosgrove (R-14)
* Bill DeSteph (R-8)
State delegates
* Rob Bell (R-58)
* Terry Kilgore (R-1)
* Matt Fariss (R-59)
* Margaret Ransone (R-99)
* Mark Cole (R-88)
Organizations
* NRA Political Victory Fund

### General election Debates

Mark Herring and Jason Miyares agreed to one debate. It was a town hall like event where people could ask questions about important issues.
2021 Virginia Attorney General :
| No. | Date | Host | Link | Participants | Participants |
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee W Withdrawn | Jason Miyares | Mark Herring* |
| 1 | October 13, 2021 | Loudoun Chamber | | P | P |
Most important issue :
| Miyares | Herring |
| Public Safety | Protecting Others |
Agree on importance of a diverse office :
| Miyares | Herring |
| Support | Support |
Position on taking down controversial statues of Confederate leaders :
| Miyares | Herring |
| Oppose | Support |

### Polling

Graphical summary
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mark Herring (D) | Jason Miyares (R) | Other | Undecided |
| The Trafalgar Group (R) | October 29–31, 2021 | 1,081 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 47% | 50% | 1% | 2% |
| Echelon Insights (R) | October 27–29, 2021 | 611 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 47% | 48% | – | 5% |
| Roanoke College | October 14–28, 2021 | 571 (LV) | ± 4.7% | 46% | 45% | 0% | 9% |
| Washington Post/Schar School | October 20–26, 2021 | 1,107 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 48% | 43% | 3% | 6% |
| Washington Post/Schar School | October 20–26, 2021 | 918 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 50% | 44% | 1% | 4% |
| Christopher Newport University | October 17–25, 2021 | 944 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 48% | 47% | – | 5% |
| Suffolk University | October 21–24, 2021 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 48% | 45% | – | 7% |
| Emerson College | October 22–23, 2021 | 875 (LV) | ± 3.2% | 47% | 44% | 1% | 7% |
| co/efficient (R) | October 20–21, 2021 | 785 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 45% | 46% | – | 8% |
| Cygnal (R) | October 19–21, 2021 | 816 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 48% | 47% | – | 6% |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | October 9–21, 2021 | 722 (LV) | ± 6.4% | 39% | 35% | 14% | 12% |
| Christopher Newport University | September 27 – October 6, 2021 | 802 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 49% | 43% | – | 7% |
| Emerson College | October 1–3, 2021 | 620 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 46% | 44% | 1% | 10% |
| Roanoke College | September 12–26, 2021 | 603 (LV) | ± 4.6% | 47% | 37% | 0% | 16% |
| KAConsulting LLC (R) | September 17–19, 2021 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 43% | 27% | 1% | 30% |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | September 7–15, 2021 | 731 (LV) | ± 6.9% | 39% | 33% | 14% | 14% |
| Emerson College | September 13–14, 2021 | 778 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 47% | 41% | 2% | 11% |
| University of Mary Washington | September 7–13, 2021 | 1,000 (A) | ± 3.1% | 40% | 37% | 6% | 17% |
| University of Mary Washington | September 7–13, 2021 | 528 (LV) | ± 4.1% | 42% | 46% | 2% | 10% |
| The Trafalgar Group (R) | August 26–29, 2021 | 1,068 (LV) | ± 3.0% | 43% | 45% | – | 13% |
| Monmouth University | August 24–29, 2021 | 802 (RV) | ± 3.5% | 45% | 43% | 1% | 11% |
| Christopher Newport University | August 15–23, 2021 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 53% | 41% | 0% | 6% |
| Roanoke College | August 3–17, 2021 | 558 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 45% | 37% | 1% | 17% |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | August 4–15, 2021 | 770 (RV) | ± 5.4% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | August 4–15, 2021 | ~747 (LV) | ± 5.5% | 41% | 30% | 19% | 10% |
| JMC Analytics and Polling (R) | June 9–12, 2021 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 45% | 38% | – | 17% |

### Results

Virginia Attorney General election, 2021 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Jason Miyares | 1,647,100 | 50.36% | +3.80% |
| | Democratic | Mark Herring (incumbent) | 1,620,564 | 49.55% | −3.79% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 2,995 | 0.09% | -0.01% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,270,659 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic | Republican gain from Democratic |

#### By congressional district

Miyares won 6 of 11 congressional districts, including two that were represented by Democrats.
| District | Herring | Miyares | Representative |
| 1st | 41% | 59% | Rob Wittman |
| 2nd | 46% | 54% | Elaine Luria |
| 3rd | 63% | 37% | Bobby Scott |
| 4th | 57% | 43% | Donald McEachin |
| 5th | 41% | 59% | Bob Good |
| 6th | 34% | 65% | Ben Cline |
| 7th | 45% | 55% | Abigail Spanberger |
| 8th | 73% | 27% | Don Beyer |
| 9th | 26% | 74% | Morgan Griffith |
| 10th | 53% | 47% | Jennifer Wexton |
| 11th | 68% | 32% | Gerry Connolly |