Among GOP candidates running for executive offices in Virginia, only Attorney General Jason Miyares has received
Most polls have Miyares leading Democrat Jay Jones, whose candidacy became plagued by a text scandal where he had expressed a desire for political violence. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is significantly trailing Democrat
Trump’s bet is partly about winning. But there’s also some calculation that he could get more from Miyares than he could from the top of the ticket.
So, how much of a foil can Miyares be to Spanberger if Virginia ends up with split government?
Let’s assess.
Unlike in some other states, Virginia’s attorney general acts as an independent office, which means it doesn’t have to report to the governor. This means Miyares could legally challenge much of Democrats’ agenda, which could — at the very least — stall some of their priorities.
Virginia Democrats have been pushing a swift mid-decade redistricting process to help the party gain more congressional seats as Trump forced red states to overhaul their maps. Spanberger has said she would not oppose the move if she’s elected governor, but Miyares recently issued an opinion calling the Democrats’ push a “last-ditch” partisan effort to circumvent the state’s constitutional process.
Miyares’ opinion, which ruled the state’s Democrats cannot complete the redistricting process before the 2026 midterms, was sent to House of Delegates Minority Leader Terry Kilgore. Kilgore and other Republicans filed a lawsuit over the matter, but a judge declined the GOP request for an emergency injunction in order to halt the push for new maps.
Jones accused Miyares of “doubling down on his fealty to Donald Trump” over his attempts to block Democrats’ redistricting effort.
Miyares could also aid Trump’s immigration agenda. The attorney general has been in favor of local law enforcement agencies coordinating with ICE, while Spanberger has said she would only be in favor of such coordination in the case of a warrant. Spanberger has also vowed to rescind Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that directs state law enforcement to coordinate with ICE to help crack down on undocumented immigrants. Miyares could again issue more legal opinions ruling such a move unconstitutional.
Spanberger has promised to further the state’s clean energy initiatives and is backed by Clean Virginia — a group whose mission statement includes fighting the “utility monopoly corruption” in the state’s elections. Miyares, meanwhile, has received at least $300,000 from Dominion Energy, the state’s largest public utility company.
Miyares has previously worked with other red-state attorneys general to try and prevent the EPA from implementing regulations on fossil fuel power plants.
If Miyares and Spanberger are jointly elected, it would break a 20-year drought of split ticketing in Virginia’s executive offices.
This trend, while becoming less common due to heightened polarization, has led to a governor of one party operating alongside an attorney general from the opposing party in several other states.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday have clashed over lawsuits against the Trump administration. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman — a Republican — has also pushed back on Democratic Gov.
But Miyares and Spanberger also share common ground on less partisan issues and on public safety, which both parties are making a priority.
Spanberger, a former federal law enforcement officer, has pushed back against progressives in her party who supported the “Defund the Police” movement and helped lead law enforcement-friendly bills while in Congress. Spanberger and Miyares share a rare divided endorsement from the Virginia Police Benevolent Association.
Spanberger has committed to not repealing qualified immunity for police officers, which is in line with Miyares. Miyares attacked Jones for co-sponsoring a bill in the state legislature that aimed to ban qualified immunity.
While backed by Trump, Miyares has also built a reputation for independence when needed. Earlier this year, he joined a bipartisan 50-state coalition of attorneys general urging the Justice Department to help address the spread of illegal offshore gaming.
Miyares sued Trump’s Department of Veterans Affairs earlier this year over a dispute regarding education benefits. The attorney general also pushed back on a decision by Trump to pardon a former Culpeper sheriff convicted on federal bribery charges.
Bob Holsworth, a Virginia political analyst, said beyond natural policy differences, the office of attorney general and the governor can sometimes clash due to personal political ambitions getting in the way.
Former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry and Gov. Doug Wilder often clashed, with Terry later blaming her own gubernatorial campaign loss on her former colleague. And both of them were Democrats.
Miyares is already being viewed as a potential 2029 gubernatorial candidate.
“A governor almost always finds it more preferable to have an attorney general of their own party than to have to work with an attorney general of another party who usually, almost always, has gubernatorial ambitions,” Holsworth said.
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