Republican Miyares outseats Democratic incumbent Herring for AG

Katharine DeRosa, News Editor

Grace McOmber, Audience Editor 

Republican candidate Jason Miyares will replace incumbent Democratic Mark Herring as Attorney General of Virginia, according to the Associated Press. Miyares is finishing up his term in the Virginia House of Representatives, representing the 82nd District.

“We really are looking forward to a new day in Virginia and I think there’s going to be a new sheriff in town when it comes to the Attorney General’s office,” Miyares said in an interview with ABC. “It’s going to have a safety-first mindset.”

Attorney General-elect Miyares won by 50.75% of the vote and Herring received 49.25% of the vote, as of 2:39 a.m., according to the Virginia Public Access Project. 

During his interview with ABC, Miyares recalled the story of his mother immigrating to the United States from Cuba and witnessing her son “be the top law enforcement officer potentially in Virginia after fleeing a country that had no respect for the rule of law.”

“It’s been a special moment for us — a special moment of reflection,” Miyares said. 

According to Miyares’ campaign website, the former criminal prosecutor’s main priorities are reopening schools, economic growth for small businesses and criminal justice.

“Jason has a record of putting violent criminals behind bars, consistently defending Virginians and if local prosecutors are unable or unwilling to prosecute violent criminals he will step in,” Miyares’ website states.

Miyares has raised approximately $6.7 million and Herring raised $7.7 million, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Miyares received $2.6 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association and $913,524 from the Republican Party of Virginia.

Miyares was first elected to the House of Delegates in 2016 and has served on the House’s Courts of Justice Committee, General Laws Committee, Transportation Committee and Privileges and Elections Committee.

 In 2020, Miyares voted against allowing local governments to remove Confederate monuments throughout the commonwealth and opposed legislation to increase the minimum wage. In 2021, he voted against marijuana decriminalization and extending voting rights to citizens on parole.

Miyares was the first Cuban-American elected to the Virginia House, according to his website. He will be the first Latino attorney general, according to The Washington Post. 

“So if your family came to this amazing country seeking hope and opportunity, there’s a good chance your family is a lot like my family and it would be the biggest honor of my life to be the attorney general,” Miyares said.