Two Democratic candidates, Jay Jones and Shannon Taylor, will face off on the June 17 primary ballot in their bid to become Virginia’s next attorney general.
Neither Jones nor Taylor is from Southwest or Southside Virginia, but both had ideas for how they could best support the two regions.
Jones, a Norfolk native, earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He served as an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, where he was a member of the Office of Consumer Protection. He also “led the fight on behalf of the Virginia NAACP against the Youngkin Administration to protect voting rights,” according to his website.
Jones, now 36, represented the 89th District in the House of Delegates from 2018 until December 2021, when he resigned from the seat he had been reelected to in the previous month. He attributed that decision to his wife’s pregnancy with their first child. He ran in the Democratic primary for attorney general in 2021 but lost to Mark Herring.
Taylor, a Charlottesville native, received her law degree from the University of Richmond Law School after attending the University of Virginia. She began her career as a prosecutor in the commonwealth’s attorney’s office for the city of Richmond and was named a special assistant in the U.S. attorney’s office in 1999 and 2002-2004.
Taylor, now 57, served as special counsel for the Richmond Multi-Jurisdictional Grand Jury from 2004 to 2008 and was elected commonwealth’s attorney for Henrico County in 2011. She was reelected in 2015 and 2019.
Both candidates have used the recent actions of the current Trump administration, and the lack of response from the current attorney general to those actions, as a cudgel to drum up support for their own campaigns.
The winner of the June 17 primary will face the current attorney general, Republican Jason Miyares, as he seeks to secure his second term in office.
The Democratic candidates’ responses to questions posed by Cardinal News are listed in alphabetical order. You can find their answers to open questions on our Voter Guide. (We also have Q&As with the six candidates for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on our Voter Guide, as well as most of the House of Delegates primary candidates across the state, plus about half the local candidates involved in primary races in the western part of the state).
How far west have you traveled in Virginia? Please share a little bit about that experience and how it would affect the way you serve in statewide office if elected.
Jones: Over the past few years, I have traveled across the state, including to towns in Southwest Virginia, as a delegate and as a member of the Virginia Opioid Taskforce and the Opioid Abatement Authority. On one trip to Bristol, I toured schools that were deteriorating due to lack of funding. I remember thinking that despite being a long way home from Norfolk, our students, teachers and families were facing the same problems due to an out of date funding formula. While that won’t be in my purview as attorney general, it reminded me that no matter your zip code, many of us are facing the same challenges, and our leaders should tackle problems in a bipartisan manner. From education to public safety, I have long been committed to solutions that are tailored to the community, however also bridges the divides between our communities and looking at shared interests of all communities like Southwest Virginia.
Taylor: Southwest Virginia is home to unmatched beauty and a strong sense of community. Last year, I visited dozens of local Democratic committee meetings and supported our Congressional candidates in [Congressional] District 9 and District 6. In both personal and professional capacities, the farthest southwest I’ve been is Washington County. I have loved my time in Southwest Virginia. Putting aside the beautiful and striking landscapes and welcoming communities, I am in awe of the kindness shown and commitment to one’s neighbor. Southwest Virginia demonstrates to me, as an attorney general candidate, the importance of finding common ground and finding solutions that can be tailored to every community in our commonwealth.
How, exactly, do you plan to “go after” the Trump administration if elected? What can you do as a statewide officeholder to mitigate the effects of the federal executive branch on Virginia?
Jones: When the Trump administration puts the safety and rights of Virginians at risk, I will use the power of the attorney general’s office to protect Virginia families and workers. Under Jason Miyares, the Trump administration’s lawless behavior has gone unchallenged, resulting in thousands of Virginia families losing their jobs, Virginians’ private data being put at risk, and critical resources for our law enforcement, health care providers and other critical priorities being threatened. I’ll always put the constitution and the well-being of our state ahead of partisan politics and will join other attorneys general across the country in taking the Trump administration to court to halt their reckless and illegal actions.
Taylor: As attorney general, I will always uphold the rule of law and the Constitution. Democratic attorneys general across the country are leading the charge to fight back against the chaos coming from the Trump administration. Attorneys general are fighting back against cuts to essential federal funding, gross overreaching from the White House and the fundamental threats to the rule of law. As Virginia’s attorney general, I will ensure that Virginians are protected from Donald Trump’s chaos and work with the General Assembly to protect Virginia through our laws, such as passing the reproductive freedom amendment.
Would you continue the efforts of the current Attorney General to tackle the opioid crisis that has devastated Southwest Virginia? If so, how would you expand on those efforts once in office? If not, why not, and what would you do instead?
Jones: Tackling decades of addiction and devastation to our communities caused by the opioid crisis requires a multifaceted approach. We must continue to hold the drugmakers who pumped opioids into our communities to make larger profits accountable for the incalculable damage they have caused by taking them to court. Then we’ll use the proceeds from settlement agreements to increase treatment options and public health programs helping those suffering from addiction get the resources they need to recover and rebuild their lives. We also need to work with communities across the commonwealth to ensure treatment and recovery programs are blended into our criminal justice system, so we are not worsening this crisis by employing a punitive, one-size-fits-all approach to addiction, but instead helping individuals recover so we can strengthen families and communities.
Taylor: We need to be vigilant and aggressive in fighting the opioid crisis to keep Virginia’s families safe. We must make every effort to stop the flow of drugs into our commonwealth. As a commonwealth’s attorney, I was diligent in pursuing those who were pushing opioids and initiated programs to help those with addiction issues to participate in recovery programs to receive appropriate support and not simply be thrown behind bars. We need to help those struggling with addiction to overcome this pernicious disease while keeping Virginia families safe.
Do you think that the opioid settlement money is being used in the best ways — are the projects that it’s been funding working? If not, what would you like to see?
Jones: The Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority has been doing commendable work in fighting this crisis and saving and rebuilding lives. Virginia is moving in the right direction with the expansion of the Opioid Overdose Reversal Program, by ensuring public health workers have access to opioid test kits and naloxone and by boosting substance abuse treatment programs for individuals on Medicaid. There is absolutely more that can be done to end this crisis for good, and I would like to see dedicated opioid specialists in more local health departments that can tailor strategies to best fit individual communities, additional recovery high schools to make sure every student fighting addiction has a fair shot at breaking free, and increased opioid training for more law enforcement, teachers and public workers throughout the state so all of us have the tools needed to play a role in ending opioid abuse.
Taylor: I will work with jurisdictions to ensure they are getting the necessary funds to address their residents’ needs and that the state is providing sufficient funding to allow jurisdictions to meet the need. Under the law, the money must be used in specific ways and each locality only gets a certain percentage, making it even more important we let localities make their own determinations for the best use, which is not the case now. While there always needs to be evidence-based solutions, the needs of localities may differ, and they should be able to make those choices.
Most of the state lawmakers from the Southwest and Southside regions are Republicans. Do you plan to work with them on issues faced by their districts? And how do you plan to extend the proverbial olive branch in a time of heightened partisanship?
Jones: I will always work for the best interests of Virginians and will work with whoever we need to, to get it done. I will not sacrifice our values, however, to bow to the special interests like pharma, who caused the pain and destruction that we see in the southwest region.
Taylor: Virginia needs an attorney general that has experience in the courtroom — not a career politician. As commonwealth’s attorney, I worked alongside Republicans to keep Virginians safe. I’m pleased to say I partnered with them to get new programs and increased budgets so my office could be more effective. We have had a very collegial relationship, and my door was always open. Politics needs to stop so that we can govern and make a difference for constituents. Even when we disagreed, we talked and tried to work towards common ground. I have found that many times, compromise is the best solution, and that solutions can come from folks with whom you might sometimes disagree.
What do you think some of the biggest issues facing Southwest Virginia voters are, and how would you address them?
Jones: It doesn’t matter what region you are from, many Virginians wake up concerned how they are going to afford their next meal, how they are going to pay their rent or afford their next trip to the doctor. We all want to live in communities that are safe and affordable. As attorney general, I’ll fight the special interests who are keeping prices high, go after predatory landlords that are increasing rent and bring to court those who are making our communities unsafe.
Taylor: Southwest Virginia faces a myriad of issues, some of which are unique to them, some of which are more serious there and some which are experienced in many places throughout the commonwealth.
We need to create more good-paying jobs in Southwest by encouraging businesses to locate there and supporting current businesses, especially small businesses. We need more job training in schools so students graduate prepared for good-paying jobs or for higher education. We need to encourage more apprenticeship and job training or retraining programs.
Healthcare is problematic in Southwest Virginia — too few providers and access is difficult because of distance. We need to encourage medical providers to choose Southwest, maybe by forgiving school loans or other incentives. We also need to make certain that healthcare programs that help those who are struggling financially are funded.
We need to strengthen our public schools. Every child, no matter their ZIP code, deserves a strong public school that readies them to succeed at graduation. Therefore, we need modern infrastructure schools with top-notch technology, which will be necessary for them to succeed at so many jobs. We need sufficient teachers and support staff, including career counselors, mental health professionals, subject area specialists, and job support to help students find that first job and be prepared to succeed at it. We really need to do a better job at workforce development.