Get to Know Jay Jones

UPDATED 10/5/2025

Who is Jay Jones? Short answer, he’s a former state lawmaker and Assistant Attorney General whose current goal is to become the next Attorney General of Virginia.

Jones is a candidate whose history of public service has deep roots:

The descendant of slaves, Jay’s family has been in Norfolk since the early 20th century. His grandfather, Hilary H. Jones, Sr., was a pioneering Civil Rights attorney in Norfolk and became the first Black member of the Norfolk School Board. In 1969, he was appointed to the State Board of Education, the first Black person to be named to the board in the history of Virginia.

Jay’s father, Jerrauld C. Jones, was one of the few Virginians to serve in all three branches of state government. He was a member of the General Assembly from 1988 – 2002, served as Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice under Governor Mark Warner and was a Circuit Court judge. His mother, Lyn Simmons, is currently a judge on the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court after a long career as a prosecutor and attorney in private practice.

Jones is a family man who

…completed his undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia. Jay, his wife Mavis, and two sons live in Norfolk, where they are members of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.

Key legislative and policy achievements

Jay Jones represented the 89th district in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 – 2022. As delegate, he

• protected abortion rights
• expanded Medicaid
• gave teachers annual pay raises
• championed energy and environmental policies
• wrote legislation for the “Ashanti Alert” for missing adults (now an alert used nationwide)
• increased funding for police
• championed criminal justice reform

Protecting consumers, communities, and the Commonwealth

As a former Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (Office of Consumer Protection), Jones safeguarded consumers when he

• took on the gun lobby
• kept families safe from violent crime
• sued corporate special interests to prevent higher grocery prices
• sought accountability for predatory big banks and landlords
• protected voter rights
• ensured tough penalties for sex offenders

Litigation accomplishments include leading “the fight on behalf of the Virginia NAACP against the Youngkin Administration to protect voting rights” and advocating “for reproductive healthcare access and abortion rights as a member of the Virginia Planned Parenthood board.”

A plan for putting Virginia first

If elected as the next Attorney General, Jay Jones intends to continue his work of standing up for Virginians. Here are five major issues he would tackle.

Public safety and gun violence

Jones’ public safety plan includes keeping Virginians safe from violent criminals, drug dealers, and the opioid crisis while also cracking down on domestic violence and crimes against seniors. He pledged that “I’ll hold tech companies accountable for exploiting children’s data and work with parents, teachers, and law enforcement to keep kids safe online.”

Continuing his work in the state legislature and as Assistant Attorney General, he’ll prioritize removing illegal guns from the streets. For a more just Virginia, he’ll also implement plans to

• improve the trust between law enforcement and neighborhoods
• expand the network of Attorney General satellite offices
• increase community feedback on safety issues
• expand law enforcement resources and training

Learn more by watching his Stand Strong video.

Drug addiction, treatment, and recovery

Jones has a plan to “prevent fentanyl addiction, support addiction recovery and combat the long-simmering illicit market for the drug.” His plan will support family healing by investing in treatment and recovery programs.

His proposed Drug Trafficking Unit would “enhance information-sharing, coordination and investigative support for local law enforcement and commonwealth’s attorney’s offices.”

Educational initiatives through partnerships with the Virginia Department of Education would help tackle drug problems with preventative measures. He also wants to expand specialty court programs to decrease recidivism and pair offenders with treatment services more often.

Additionally, Jones would support laws that raise penalties for fentanyl-related money laundering and go after social media and payment platforms that facilitate illicit drug transactions. Jones would seek to strengthen partnerships with neighboring states to help continue cracking down on trafficking across state lines.

Defending Virginia’s veterans

Jones has pledged to “strengthen and defend veterans’ access to affordable, quality healthcare” in response to “President Trump’s harmful cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs.” This would include strategies such as lawsuits to get funds restored.

Reproductive rights

Jones’ plan to protect reproductive rights includes creating a reproductive rights hotline based in the attorney general’s office. Jay Jones will protect abortion rights in Virginia, while Miyares will rubber-stamp Trump’s attempts at a nationwide ban.

Jones will also continue to support the passage of Virginia’s constitutional amendment for reproductive freedom as well as defend it as needed as Attorney General.

Virginia first, not the Trump administration

Jay Jones wants to take on the Trump administration and fight back against Trump’s extreme agenda as Virginia’s next attorney general: “I’ll never back down from Donald Trump.”

One way he intends to accomplish this goal is by refocusing the AG’s office back to general consumer protection, which he said has lapsed under current Attorney General Jason Miyares. Staffing up the consumer protection unit would enable the AG office to take action against special interests and price-gougers that are hiking prices and raising housing costs for Virginians, in contrast with Miyares who lets predatory landlords off the hook.

Jones wants to restore the Office of Civil Rights, which he said had been “hollowed out” under Miyares. He’ll also sue to protect Virginia against Trump administration overreach.

Another goal is for Virginia to join multi-state lawsuits to increase protection for federal workers and research funding. He also envisions a labor justice unit “to go after folks who are misclassifying workers, folks who are taking advantage of working Virginians.”

Jay Jones works for the people

The stakes couldn’t be higher for Virginia’s November 2025 election, and that’s why it’s important to elect an Attorney General who will fight for Virginians against threats to their pocketbooks, jobs, and healthcare.

Jones has a track record of keeping communities safe and supporting workers’ rights. His combination of public lawmaking and private sector litigating makes him uniquely positioned to stand up to the Trump administration while also delivering relief to Virginia families.

An update from N4C – What about the text messages we’re hearing about in the news?

You’re right to be concerned, angry or disappointed. We feel it too. We’ll all have to sort through the emotions and information carefully. N4C feels that Alsúin Creighton-Preis, Chair of the Henrico County Democratic Committee, has perspective worth considering as you weigh your choices:

“Accountability matters.

Jay Jones’s old text messages were wrong, and he’s owned that, publicly and personally. He’s apologized directly, taken responsibility and expressed real remorse. That’s what accountability looks like.

Republicans are trying to weaponize this moment to distract from their own appalling record. Ultra MAGA Attorney General Jason Miyares has failed to stand up to trump over illegal tariffs, federal workforce cuts and defunding public schools. He’s spent his time in office pushing the monsterous trump agenda, attacking reproductive rights, politicizing investigations and putting ambition ahead of Virginian’s needs. He is on board with ALL of it. We cannot let him drag our Commonwealth backward.

Here in Henrico, our Democratic ticket: Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, Delores McQuinn, Rodney Willett, Destiny LeVere Bolling, May Nivar, Scott K and yes, Jay Jones, is showing what real leadership looks like. They’ve been working their hearts out, meeting voters, listening and fighting for our shared values.

This election is about us. It’s about them. It’s about protecting our rights, strengthening our communities and moving Virginia forward.”