Jay Jones

Jerrauld Charles Corey "Jay" Jones (born March 14, 1989) is an American politician and attorney who has been the 49th Attorney General of Virginia since 2026. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 89th district from 2018 to 2022. 

Jones ran for Virginia Attorney General in 2021, losing the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring. 

2025 Attorney General election
During his campaign for attorney general, Jones was criticized for text messages sent in 2022 in which he supported violence against the then–state house speaker Todd Gilbert and wished death on his children so his wife would feel the pain of gun violence. Jones apologized for the statements saying he was "ashamed".

Jones was elected Virginia Attorney-General in November 2025, beating Republican incumbent Jason Miyares by a seven percentage point margin. He is the first African-American to serve as Virginia Attorney General.

Virginia Attorney General
On January 17, 2026, Jones was sworn into office by his mother, and Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Chief Judge, Lyn M. Simmons.

One of his first actions was to support extending Virginia's universal background check gun laws after a Lynchburg Circuit Court said that it unconstitutionally discriminated against adults aged 18 to 20.

References

Other websites

Jay Jones for Attorney General campaign website

Category:1989 births
Category:Living people
Category:Members of the Virginia General Assembly
Category:Virginia attorneys general
Category:People from Norfolk, Virginia
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:African-American politicians
Category:African-American lawyers