Virginia attorney general debate between Jay Jones and Jason Miyares held at University of Richmond

Jason Miyares, Jay Jones face off in VA Attorney General Debate

The debate between Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and Republican incumbent Jason Miyares was held at the University of Richmond on Thursday. Watch the full debate here.

RICHMOND, Va. - Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and Republican incumbent Jason Miyares are debating tonight in Richmond, Virginia. 

Where is the Virginia attorney general debate?

The debate will be held at the University of Richmond in partnership with the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Section. 

It will be the only Virginia Attorney General debate ahead of election day on November 4. 

The event is open to the public, but tickets have already sold out. 

What time is the Virginia attorney general debate? 

The debate will be on Thursday, October 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

How to watch the Virginia attorney general debate

You can watch the debate live in the player above, as well as on the FOX 5 DC YouTube page. 

Who is running for attorney general in Virginia? 

Democratic candidate Jay Jones is running against Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.

Who is Jay Jones? 

36-year-old Jones was born in Norfolk, VA and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. He served two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2018 to 2022.

Since leaving the Virginia House of Delegates, Jones told FOX 5 DC that he’s been working "in the private sector, litigating in court against Governor Youngkin and Jason Miyares on behalf of folks like the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP to protect voting rights."

This isn’t the first time Jones has tried to run for Virginia attorney general – he announced his candidacy in 2020, but lost the Democratic primary to Mark Herring. 

"I'm running for attorney general because Virginia needs a fighter, someone who's not going to stay silent while our rights are under attack," said Jones to FOX 5's Jim Lokay back in June. "The current attorney general has turned this office into nothing more than a political tool, and we deserve better."

Who is Jason Miyares? 

Miyares, 49, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and grew up in Virginia Beach. He’s served as the attorney general for Virginia since 2022. 

Before that, Miyares  served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022. 

Miyares is Cuban-American; his mother fled from Havana, Cuba in 1965. He is the first Hispanic American elected to statewide office in Virginia and the first child of an immigrant to become Attorney General. 

In his current role, Miyares has been focused "on fighting violent crime and improving public safety, strengthening economic growth, combatting the deadly impact of opioids and fentanyl, and protecting Virginians from corporate misconduct," according to the OAG website. 

What to expect

Jones will likely face questions on released text messages from 2022 in which he commented about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, saying, "three people two bullets…Gilbert, Hitler, and Polpot…Gilbert gets two bullets to the head."

Jay Jones' scandal shakes up Virginia's AG race

Virginia?s Attorney General race continues to make headlines nationwide as Democratic candidate Jay Jones tries to recover from a text message scandal. Newly published private messages reveal he once mused about shooting a Republican lawmaker.

Since the text messages were published earlier this month, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for Jones to drop out, including Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and President Donald Trump. 

Jones has apologized publicly for the texts, but vowed to remain in the race.