by Marianna Burke of the VA Grassroots Coalition
What happens when the chief legal officer of Virginia – the person sworn to uphold the law – breaks it, undermines the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions, and uses the office for political gain? If you ask Attorney General Jason Miyares, the incumbent seeking reelection in 2025, his answer is simple: reelect him. But his record tells a far different story.
The role of Attorney General is to counsel state agencies and legislatures, represent and protect the public interest, and make the welfare of Virginians the highest priority. Instead, Miyares has shown loyalty to President Trump and an extreme right-wing agenda over the people of Virginia.
Miyares is failing to defend Virginians against harmful executive orders. Unlike more than 20 other state Attorney Generals, Miyares refused to challenge Trump’s damaging Executive Orders. He would not act to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education, reinstate public education funds canceled by Trump, challenge harmful tariffs, protect Birthright Citizenship, protect women’s reproductive freedom, or uphold federal employment laws. Instead he urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, Virginia courts to weaken the Voting Rights Act, and encouraged disenfranchisement of other groups that he disfavored. His challenger, Jay Jones, has promised to go on the offensive against these and other attacks.
Miyares violated the US and Virginia Constitutions and provided bad legal advice. He advised Virginia Universities to seat Governor Youngkin’s nominees before Senate approval – advice the courts ruled unconstitutional. In an amicus brief, he even asserted that the Trump administration did not have to follow the law and that the president could act as a dictator.
Miyares performed political stunts at the public’s expense. He fabricated charges against an election official after the 2020 election to justify creating an Election Integrity Unit. When the case collapsed for lack of evidence, the elections official sued Miyares for malicious prosecution. He has also harassed school systems– targeting Fairfax County Public Schools with costly, baseless investigations, losing in court but continuing similar probes, most recently over gender policies in multiple Northern Virginia districts.
Miyares attempted to suppress voting. He attempted to purge legitimate voters from Virginia’s rolls in violation of the National Voter Registration Act, based on conspiracy theories. A coalition sued and successfully blocked the purge, and the Supreme Court upheld the ruling and forced Virginia to restore the purged names.
Miyares used fear-mongering and bigotry. He vilified transgender students, threatened hospitals and used inflammatory rhetoric calling Democrats “crazy, leftist communists” with “domestic terrorist” attitudes. He even tried to shut down Democratic fundraising pages with false allegations.
Miyares used misleading attacks on his opponent. Miyares accused Jay Jones of being “soft on crime”, a racist dog whistle implying Jones’ race matters more than his record. In reality, Jones is an accomplished litigator, former Assistant Attorney General, and has experience defending against cases brought by the AG’s office, making him well-qualified to represent the public interest.
This November, Virginians can choose between an Attorney General who has repeatedly misused his office, and a candidate committed to upholding the law, protecting citizens and standing against extremist overreach. The facts are clear. The choice should be too.
