Summary
The 2021 Virginia Attorney General election will be held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next Attorney General of Virginia. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring is running for a third term. Herring initially planned to run for governor, but decided to run for re-election. He will face Republican nominee Jason Miyares in the general election.
OnAir Post: 2021 VA Attorney General’s Race
News
Business Insider, – November 2, 2021
Republican Jason Miyares defeated Democratic incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring in Virginia on Tuesday.
Polls in Virginia closed at 7 p.m. ET.
The candidates:
Miyares has served as a Republican member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, which encompasses part of Virginia Beach, since 2016. He was the first Cuban American elected to the General Assembly, and has often highlighted his Cuban background on the campaign trail by telling the story of his mother’s immigration to the US in 1965. He makes history as the state’s first Latino attorney general.
Miyares has touted his experience as a former prosecutor to set himself apart from his rival. He’s criticized how Democrats in office have handled public safety and is running “to keep our communities safe and secure,” which includes fighting human trafficking, supporting the police, and restoring law and order, according to his campaign website. Miyares opposes increased gun-control policies and says gun violence should be solved by targeting criminals.
Virginia Mercury, – October 29, 2021
With just a few days until this year’s election, polls have indicated a tightening race between Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, and Republican candidate Jason Miyares, a state delegate. Last in a two-part Q&A series with Herring and Miyares.
Two of the most vivid memories Del. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, has revolve around his mother’s path to becoming a U.S. citizen after she immigrated from Cuba. Those moments shape his politics as a delegate and make him proud to potentially be Virginia’s first Latino in the attorney general’s office, he said. Miyares talked to The Mercury about his background and his plans if elected, including a crackdown on crime. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VM: What do you think is the proper role of the attorney general?
Miyares: One of the key roles of the attorney general, you’re the intersection of the civil and criminal and you are there to protect Virginians but also you’re known as Virginia’s top prosecutor. Public safety is a huge mission of the Attorney General’s Office. I think a big key difference between myself and my opponent is that he’s been trained as a politician, and I’ve been trained as a prosecutor. When the murder rate in Virginia is at over a two decade high, people are concerned, so I want to go after human traffickers. I want to go after violent felons. I want to investigate school boards that aren’t reporting sexual assaults in schools as they’re doing in Loudoun. And so I think, right now, it’s clear to me that the right leaders focus on the right priorities and top priority for me is going to be safety and security for Virginians.
How do you feel about potentially being the first Latino to hold this position in Virginia?
It’s humbling. My story doesn’t begin in Virginia Beach. It begins in Havana, Cuba when a scared 19-year-old girl got on an airplane penniless and homeless and not knowing where the next meal is gonna come from. That was my mother, Miriam Miyares. I’d be the first elected attorney general also in Virginia history to be the child of an immigrant. So I love to say if your family came to this country seeking hope and opportunity, there’s a good chance your family is a lot like my family. It would be the biggest honor of my life to be your attorney general.
Virginia Mercury, – October 28, 2021
With just a few days until this year’s election, polls have indicated a tightening race between Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, and Republican candidate Jason Miyares, a state delegate. This is the first in a two-part Q&A series with Herring and Miyares.
For Herring, a third term would be focused on defending progressive legislation from legal challenges and protecting Virginians who are marginalized, he says. If elected, Herring would be the first attorney general since 1945 to serve a third consecutive term. He talked to the Mercury about what he hopes to achieve, Virginia’s political landscape and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VM: What do you think is the proper role of the attorney general?
Herring: I believe the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. My team and I, every single day, look for ways that we can use the law as a tool to help our fellow Virginians, especially those who are vulnerable, those who are discriminated against. People who truly need the arm and shield of the law. That’s why I’m running for re-election, because we have made so much progress over the last eight years with that vision that I brought. We need to continue to keep that progress and continue fighting for all Virginians.
How do you think Virginia’s political landscape has changed since you were first elected as attorney general in 2014?
I think Virginians are really pleased with the direction that my team and I have led. We have taken a bold stance in order to stand up and protect Virginians and their rights. One of the first things I did when I came into office eight years ago, was to go into court and say, ‘No, we’re not going to defend an unconstitutional ban on marriage for same sex couples. We’re gonna fight for marriage equality.’
We won a landmark case that is now the law of the land. We continue to protect Virginia’s Dreamers, making sure that all Virginians, new Virginians, whatever their background, that they truly are a full part of the commonwealth and the communities they live in. We continue to stand up and protect people’s health care from being taken away from them. Republican attorneys general time and again have tried to go to court to overturn the Affordable Care Act… All of these things have meant so much to so many people. I’ve heard from those who have been positively impacted by the way we lead on marriage equality, and it has made their lives so much better.
I will never forget stories… in Hampton Roads for example, women that I met with who were crying, fearing that their health care would be taken away from them. They were breast cancer survivors and they were afraid that they would lose their health care because it was a pre-existing condition. Issue after issue: protecting a woman’s right to choose, fighting for racial equity. In so many ways, we have really made Virginia a place that is open and welcoming to everyone. That’s obviously been good for Virginians, but it’s also been good for our economy. We’ve been named the best state in America back to back, and in large part that’s attributable to the work that my team and I have done to make Virginia a very inclusive and welcoming place.
Richmond Times-Dispatch, – October 13, 2021
Attorney General Mark Herring and Republican challenger Jason Miyares debated in Loudoun County on Wednesday, defending their opposing political views and attacking each other in front of a group of business leaders.
Without any broadcast or livestream, the public had no way to watch or listen.
Herring, debating on his home turf in Loudoun, is seeking a third term in the job after deciding to forgo a run for governor. Miyares, a state delegate from Virginia Beach, often cites his family’s immigrant roots. His mother fled Cuba in 1965.
The two sparred over Herring’s liberal record and Miyares’ conservative positions. The challenger largely focused on crime and attacked Herring over an ongoing scandal involving the Virginia Parole Board.
“Our murder rate is the highest it’s been in Virginia in decades. We have a criminal first, victim last mindset,” Miyares said. “We need a check and balance in Richmond. As attorney general, I’ll be that check, and I’ll be that balance.”
Herring’s theme was that Miyares’ opposition to abortion rights, gun control and gay marriage put him out of touch with mainstream Virginians.
“Voters will choose between my proven record of protecting Virginians and expanding our rights, and Jason Miyares, whose record shows he is a right-wing, Cuccinelli-style conservative who would abuse the office and undermine both our safety and our rights.”
WRIC, – September 17, 2021
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Even though Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring holds an edge over his Republican challenger Jason Miyares in a new statewide poll, its results suggest that his bid for a third term could be in jeopardy.
An 8News/Emerson College poll released Thursday found Herring (D) leading 47% to 41% among likely voters, with 11% still undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%.
While Herring leads among undecided voters, 58% to 42%, independent voters reported being unsure on whom to vote for at a higher rate than Democrats or Republicans and are leaning towards Del. Miyares (R-Virginia Beach) by a wide margin, the poll shows.
herringforag.com, – September 16, 2021
LEESBURG, Va. – Today, the Washington Post endorsed Attorney General Mark Herring, calling him a “level-headed progressive” who has “been bold in pushing to scrap GOP-devised rules designed to force the closure of abortion clinics, and in backing affordable access to higher education at state-supported colleges for undocumented students who have grown up in the commonwealth”.
The endorsement comes after Attorney General Herring’s push to fight back against Texas’ draconian abortion laws, and after the Attorney General and the democratic ticket vowed to protect abortion rights from any attacks during a joint press conference to educate voters about what is at stake in Virginia if any their anti-abortion republican opponents are elected.
Read more of the Editorial Board’s endorsement below:
About
Source: Ballotpedia
Incumbent Mark Herring (D) and Jason Miyares (R) are running in the election for attorney general on November 2, 2021.
Herring has served as Virginia’s attorney general since 2014. Miyares has served as state delegate representing District 82 in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2016.[1] During the primary, Herring was endorsed by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D) and Don Beyer (D) and The Washington Post. Miyares received endorsements from former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley (R), Rep. Ben Cline (R), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R).[2]
In a June 15 debate, Herring and Miyares outlined their campaign priorities and visions for the role of Virginia’s attorney general. Herring said he believed “the attorney general should be the people’s lawyer, working to keep Virginians safe and ensuring justice, equality, and opportunity for all.” He highlighted his participation in cases opposing Donald Trump’s (R) immigration policies in the Middle East, supporting same-sex marriage, and supporting the Affordable Care Act. Herring also criticized Miyares, saying: “Voters will have [a choice] between my proven record of protecting Virginians and expanding rights, and conservative activist Jason Miayres, who would abuse the powers of the office to roll back all of those gains and make Virginians less safe.”[3]
Miyares said he believed “the attorney general is the top cop of Virginia,” and highlighted his experience as a former prosecutor. He said he would support victims of crime and that “violent crime is at the highest rate it’s been in two decades, Virginia’s murder rate is the highest it’s been since the turn of the decade. We desperately need some type of check and balance in Richmond.” He criticized Herring, saying: “Mark Herring has forgotten our victims because he’s been pushing a criminal-first, victim-last mindset that’s made Virginians less safe and less secure.”[3]
Herring (D), first elected in 2013, won re-election in 2017 with 53.4% of the vote to John Adams’ (R) 46.6%. The last Republican attorney general in Virginia was Ken Cuccinelli, who served from 2010 to 2014. Cuccinelli’s election in 2009, along with that year’s election of former Governor Bob McDonnell (R), was the last time a Republican candidate won statewide office in Virginia.[4] A Virginia attorney general has not served three consecutive terms since 1945 when Abram Penn Staples (D) was elected for the third time.[5]
The Attorney General of Virginia is a publicly elected executive official in the Virginia state government. The attorney general provides legal advice and representation for all state agencies. The attorney general also provides written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the Virginia General Assembly and other government officials.
Miayres completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Survey. Click here to view his responses.
This page focuses on Virginia’s general election for attorney general. For more in-depth information on Virginia’s Republican attorney general convention and the Democratic primary election, see the following pages:
- Virginia Attorney General election, 2021 (June 8 Democratic primary)
- Virginia Attorney General election, 2021 (May 8 Republican convention)
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Mark Herring
Source: Campaign Page
Attorney General Mark Herring is fighting every day for justice, equality, and opportunity for ALL Virginians.
As your Attorney General, Mark never backs down from a challenge because he believes that your attorney general should have your back. Sometimes that means bringing new tools and fresh ideas to a public safety challenge. Sometimes it means fighting in court to protect your rights. And sometimes, it means standing up to powerful interests, including former President Trump.
Mark Herring was raised by a single mother in Loudoun County, Virginia. She instilled in him that when you see a problem in your community, you have an obligation to try and fix it. He worked construction and other jobs in order to help pay for college, and he’s never forgotten where he came from, which is why he works every single day to make our families and communities safer.
As attorney general, Mark is a leading voice for criminal justice reform in the Commonwealth. He led on decriminalization of cannabis, and is continuing to push for legal, regulated adult use and to resolve past convictions, He is also championing progressive reform measures like cash bail reform, expanding record expungement and reentry programs, diversifying the judiciary, and increasing safety, transparency, and accountability in policing, use of force, and deaths in custody.
Jason Miyares
Source: Campaign Page
About Former Prosecutor & Delegate Jason Miyares
Delegate Jason Miyares is an example of President Ronald Reagan’s “Shining City upon a Hill.” His story begins with his mother, Miriam Maria Miyares, who fled communist Cuba in 1965 with the clothes on her back and no idea from where her next meal would come. She legally immigrated to the United States and instilled in her three sons a passionate love of the freedom and democracy of America. Miyares grew up in Virginia Beach, attending local public schools and growing up in a middle-class household that emphasized the values of hard work, love of country, and service above self.
Above all, his mother’s story of losing everything she owned to the horrors of socialism taught Jason Miyares firsthand the truth of Ronald Reagan’s maxim that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction… it must be fought for, protected and handed on…..”
That truth animates Jason Miyares’ service as a prosecutor, leader and Delegate.
Learn more about Jason Miyares here.
Issues
Civil Rights
Mark Herring
Attorney General Mark R. Herring has been an unwavering advocate for Virginia women on issues of economic fairness, reproductive justice, and more. Along with Gov. Terry McAuliffe, he has been a brick wall against Republican attacks on a woman’s reproductive freedom, and has fought in court to defend a woman’s access to comprehensive healthcare services including abortion and birth control. In his own office, he has taken unprecedented steps to elevate women in leadership positions, build an inclusive workforce, and promote pay equity.
Attorney General Herring reversed dangerous and incorrect legal advice from his predecessor that had closed at least one women’s health clinic and threatened the closure of more through medically unnecessary and intentionally burdensome regulations. Because of his correct legal advice in what the Washington Post called “a watertight official legal opinion,” the Virginia Board of Health protected women’s health clinics from expensive and medically unnecessary retrofits that would have closed many Virginia clinics that offer abortion services.
Attorney General Herring helped defeat a 20-week abortion ban in the legislature with an official opinion that declared such a law would likely be struck down as unconstitutional, and as a state senator, he opposed legislation to restrict a woman’s access to abortion, including personhood bills and Virginia’s infamous “mandatory transvaginal ultrasound” bill.
Unlike his opponent, who has fought twice at the Supreme Court to give employers the right to influence their employees personal, private medical decisions by denying basic, preventive reproductive health coverage to their employees including in the infamousHobby Lobby case, Attorney General Herring fought alongside his colleagues to protect a woman’s access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including contraception, without interference from her boss. He also led a multi state coalition defending access to healthcare on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Attorney General Herring successfully fought alongside his colleagues in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt to strike down Texas’s onerous, medically unnecessary targeted regulations of abortion providers (TRAP).
FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FOR ALL VIRGINIANS
Promoting Diversity
Attorney General Mark R. Herring believes our Commonwealth’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths. He has had a front row seat as his home county of Loudoun has transformed itself and become more economically dynamic as it became more diverse and welcoming. He understands that immigration has been a source of economic and cultural benefit for Virginia for more than 400 years and is working each and every day to make sure that new Virginians are welcome here.
Attorney General Herring has been an outspoken advocate for minority communities, launching www.NoHateVA.com as a resource and seeking additional tools to protect those who are vulnerable from hate crimes and to hold perpetrators accountable.
Attorney General Herring has been a national leader in fighting President Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim ban, successfully arguing that the ban was unconstitutional and based on religious bigotry and winning the nation’s first preliminary injunction against the ban.
In 2014, Attorney General Herring determined that Virginia DREAMers who were protected by DACA could qualify for in-state tuition and pursue an affordable education in their home state. Since then, hundreds of Virginia students have been able to pursue an affordable education in their home state.
Attorney General Herring is working to strengthen the relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, especially in communities of color, by providing additional training on 21st century policing skills like implicit bias, helping departments recruit more diverse officers, and encouraging positive interactions between officers and young people.
And he has worked to build a world class team of lawyers that reflects the diversity of the people they serve, including appointing the first African-American woman to serve as Chief Deputy Attorney General of Virginia.
Fighting For Equality
Just 12 days into his term, Attorney General Mark R. Herring took the historic step of joining the fight for marriage equality, winning at the district court and appeals court before the United States Supreme Court let the decision stand, bringing marriage equality to the Commonwealth within 10 months of his taking office. Attorney General Herring is the first state attorney general to successfully argue that his state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples should be struck down as unconstitutional.
Attorney General Herring wrote an official advisory opinion that said Virginia public schools can protect LGBT students, teachers, and employees from bullying, discrimination, and harassment. He also ended a policy of the previous administration that barred Virginia colleges and universities from establishing LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies.
Attorney General Herring proposed and fought for an updated definition of “hate crime” to include LGBT Virginians, and for additional tools to prosecute suspected hate crimes. He signed an amicus brief in support of transgender students being able to receive an education in a comfortable environment. And he worked with Governor Terry McAuliffe to craft an Executive Order barring state contracts to companies who do not have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies, mirroring President Obama’s federal executive order.
Jason Miyares
N/A
Democracy
Mark Herring
N/A
Jason Miyares
Democrats continue to oppose cleaning voter rolls and commonsense election integrity measures like showing an ID to vote. Jason supports reform measures that give the confidence for all Virginians that elections are run with integrity and openness.
Economy
Mark Herring
PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Attorney General Mark R. Herring is a pro-business, pro-opportunity attorney general, working every day to make sure Virginia remains the best state in America to live, work, learn, and raise a family, or to start and grow a business. His background in the private sector, as both a small business owner and an attorney serving Northern Virginia’s business and professional communities, gives him a unique perspective on how to help Virginia businesses thrive.
Attorney General Herring has also fought hard against scams and businesses that take advantage of the Commonwealth and its hard-working taxpayers. Since taking office, Attorney General Herring’s Consumer Protection Section has recovered over $403 million in consumer relief and payments from violators.
Attorney General Herring created Virginia’s first Worker Protection Unit, a multidisciplinary team of prosecutors and attorneys within the Office of Attorney General, which will be led by a dedicated criminal prosecutor, that will focus on investigating, stopping, and prosecuting individuals and businesses who unlawfully engage in worker exploitation, in addition to educating Virginia workers on their rights.
In an increasingly global economy, Attorney General Herring is working to create a Commonwealth where businesses, entrepreneurs, and talented workers from around the world feel welcome to start, grow, or work at a Virginia business. He has championed common-sense immigration reforms, given the children of immigrants who have only called Virginia home an opportunity to pursue an affordable college education in Virginia, and sought new tools and resources to combat hate crimes.
Attorney General Herring and his team have worked on legislation to help Virginia prepare for the growing “sharing economy,” and to combat “patent trolls” that force Virginia businesses into expensive litigation over bad-faith claims of patent infringement.
Jason Miyares
Recreate a Pro-Business Virginia
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are struggling with high taxation, litigation and regulation coming out of Richmond. Jason will fight to preserve Virginia’s Right to Work status and is a passionate believer in a “bottom-up” economy that doesn’t favor big corporations but instead supports the policies that allow small business owners to grow, thrive and most importantly, hire. While the current Attorney General continues to side with far left, out of state political organizations over Virginia small business owners, Jason will always stand for job creation and opportunity.
Education
Mark Herring
N/A
Jason Miyares
Fight for the next generation
The closure of schools for over a year has had an unconscionable impact on our children and most vulnerable. During a time when America was having a great debate about inequality in our great nation we shut down one of the great equalizing tools in our society; our schools. Over the past year we have seen the Virginia public education system fail our children, their parents, and in particular the most vulnerable students that struggle with learning disabilities or have an IEP. The Virginia State Constitution gives our kids the right to an education and Jason pledges to sue any school district on behalf of parents that is not fully open by the time he is sworn in.
Environment
Mark Herring
Attorney General Mark R. Herring has fought for clean air and water, open spaces, clean energy, and to hold polluters accountable. He has been a consistent voice for progress in developing clean energy and addressing climate change because of Virginia’s unique vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise.
In 2016, Attorney General Herring secured the largest environmental damages settlement in Virginia history. He has also brought successful enforcement actions against polluters who damage Virginia waterways.
He has made Virginia the first Chesapeake Bay state to successfully defend the Bay cleanup plan in court against a legal attack by out-of-state special interests and attorneys general from states as far away as Alaska.
As part of the “Green 20,” Attorney General Herring is working with a group of his fellow attorneys general who have committed to address climate change, protect progress made in recent years, and promote cleaner energy. Attorney General Herring is defending President Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court because it is an ambitious, achievable, and lawful roadmap for enjoying the health, environmental, and economic benefits of cleaner air. He has continued to oppose the Trump Administration’s attempts to withdraw the Clean Power Plan and kill pending litigation regarding its lawfulness.
In official opinions, Attorney General Herring has clarified and confirmed the ability of the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and the authority of local governments to regulate “fracking.” Working with Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Attorney General Herring has helped grow solar, wind, and renewable energy sectors in Virginia, including new solar projects that will power state government facilities.
Attorney General Herring fought in court to defend Virginia’s conservation easement tax credit program, and spoke out strongly in opposition to President Trump’s proposed cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and Chesapeake Bay Program.
Jason Miyares
N/A
Health Care
COMBATING THE HEROIN AND OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Attorney General Herring has been recognized as one of Virginia’s foremost authorities in responding to the heroin and opioid crisis that is touching so many families in Virginia and around the country. Because he understands that we can’t just arrest our way out of this problem, he has relentlessly pursued a comprehensive strategy that emphasizes education, prevention, and treatment alongside enforcement against dealers and traffickers who profit off addiction.
Attorney General Herring launched an unprecedented five-point plan to address the crisis which includes legislation, education, prevention, enforcement, and collaboration. He was recognized with the “Bronze Key Award” from the McShin Foundation for his commitment and effectiveness in addressing substance abuse.
Attorney General Herring and his team have been relentless in cracking down on the dealers and traffickers who profit off addiction and threaten Virginians’ lives. He and his team have prosecuted more than 75 cases against heroin dealers and traffickers involving more than 375 pounds of heroin and fentanyl, which is about 1.69 million doses worth about $17 million on the streets.
Because education and prevention are key to solving the problem, Attorney General Herring created “Heroin: The Hardest Hit,” an award-winning documentary and a companion website www.HardestHitVA.com which serves as a one-stop shop for education and prevention materials. The film is now mandatory viewing in health education classes around the state, and the office is even educating middle schoolers on the dangers of heroin and prescription drug abuse.
The General Assembly passed two lifesaving pieces of legislation brought forward by Attorney General Herring, one to make Naloxone, a lifesaving overdose reversal drug, available without a prescription and available to all law enforcement officers and first responders, and one to create the state’s first “Good Samaritan” safe reporting law to encourage people in the presence of an overdose to call 911. Those two measures have saved thousands of lives since their enactment. This year, he helped expand Naloxone access to community organizations and nonprofits.
Attorney General Herring secured the donation of more than 80,000 drug disposal kits to get unused prescriptions out of medicine cabinets before they can be abused. He has partnered with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District to create the Hampton Roads Heroin Work Group, and he and his team are active members of multiple heroin task forces around the state.
Jason Miyares
N/A
Immigration
Mark Herring
N/A
Jason Miyares
As potentially the first Attorney General since 1786 that would be the child of an immigrant, Jason is a passionate believer in the American Miracle and that our nation is a nation of second chances. If your family came to America seeking freedom and opportunity chances are your family is a lot like the Miyares Family. Miyares supports legal immigration, but he will not allow illegal immigrants to take advantage of American laws and is in favor of efforts to strengthen border security.
Safety
Mark Herring
Building Safer, Stronger Communities
Attorney General Mark R. Herring is working every day to promote safe, successful communities in every corner of the Commonwealth. He has forged strong relationships with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and has made additional public safety and law enforcement tools and resources available to Virginia communities.
Attorney General Herring has been recognized as one of Virginia’s foremost authorities in responding to the heroin and opioid crisis that is touching so many families in Virginia and around the country. He has relentlessly pursued a comprehensive strategy that emphasizes education, prevention, and treatment alongside enforcement, cracking down on dealers and traffickers who profit off addiction and threaten Virginians’ lives. He and his team have prosecuted more than 75 cases against heroin dealers and traffickers involving more than 375 pounds of heroin and fentanyl, which is about 1.69 million doses worth about $17 million on the streets.
Attorney General Herring is leading a transformation in the way Virginia works to prevent and respond to sexual and domestic violence. He is leading a $3.4 million project to completely eliminate Virginia’s backlog of more than 2,000 untested rape kits. He chaired Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Task Force on Combating Campus Sexual Violence, which helped make Virginia a national leader on the issue. He has helped implement Lethality Assessment Protocol, an innovative tool to prevent domestic violence and homicide, in dozens of communities around the Commonwealth.
Even in the NRA’s home state, Attorney General Herring has stood up to the gun lobby and a legislature that is beholden to it. He has built a record of achievement in reducing gun violence, prosecuting more than 100 cases involving illegal guns and gun violence, and has taken strong stands for commonsense gun safety measures like a reinstatement of Virginia’s “one handgun per month” law and universal background checks.
Attorney General Mark R. Herring has brought together law enforcement, community leaders, the faith community, and others to find common ground, identify solutions, and ensure the safety of our communities and the equal and fair treatment of all our citizens. He and his team helped hundreds of officers receive training in 21st century policing skills like implicit bias control, de-escalation, and crisis intervention training.
Attorney General Mark R. Herring recognizes that nothing is more important than the safety of our children. That’s why he has made Virginia a national leader in the use of innovative technology to protect children and catch perpetrators, and led a bipartisan effort to expand the reach of Virginia’s efforts. He and his team have helped put hundreds of child predators behind bars through aggressive prosecutions and digital forensics work.
Attorney General Herring and his team have worked more than 250 cases against child predators, secured jail sentences of more than 500 years, and examined more than 2,000 computers, phones, and other devices in 400 different cases. He made the services of the office more readily available and accessible to state and local law enforcement agencies and invested in a mobile computer forensics lab so technicians can analyze child pornography at the scene of the crime.
Attorney General Herring’s Office has invested in cutting edge technology that makes it easier for investigators to identify child victims and rescue them from dangerous situations. Virginia is one of only about 5 states to utilize this powerful technology, which has led to additional arrests, more than 4,000 pieces of evidence, more than 1,000 tips, and more than 200 active investigations.
Attorney General Herring has partnered with South Dakota Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley to launch the bipartisan Campaign for Child Rescue, a joint effort by child welfare advocates, law enforcement agencies, and the high-tech sector to promote new technology to make investigations easier, to build stronger cases, and to identify and rescue children from dangerous situations.
Attorney General Herring and his team have been integral to high-profile child pornography and child exploitation prosecutions including a cross-country child sex ring, a former youth hockey coach in Northern Virginia, and a former school teacher in the Richmond area.
Attorney General Herring has stood up to the gun lobby and a legislature that is beholden to it. He has built a record of combatting gun violence and has taken strong stands in favor of commonsense gun safety measures.
Attorney General Herring has assembled a team of prosecutors to crack down on felons with firearms and gun runners. He and his team prosecuted more than 100 gun crimes, including violent crimes, in both state and federal court.
Attorney General Herring has formed strong working relationships with law enforcement partners, especially in Washington, DC and Maryland, as well as building relationships with local, state, federal, and interstate law enforcement partners.
To address domestic homicide using a gun, Attorney General Herring has built a comprehensive program for training law enforcement and members of Virginia communities in the use of Lethality Assessment Protocol to save lives.
To crack down on gun running out of Virginia, he has fought for the reinstatement of Virginia’s “one handgun a month” law and mandatory background checks on all gun sales including those at gun shows.
Attorney General Herring has worked with the Virginia faith community to demand gun manufacturers implement gun safety technology and joined with the Attorneys General of Washington D.C. and Maryland to write a letter to those manufacturers requesting information on their safety measures.
Jason Miyares
Punish Criminals and Protect Victims
The victims of violent crimes are too often ignored or forgotten in Richmond. An out-of-control parole board has let out felons, rapists, murderers, cop killers, and child abusers out of prison and back in our neighborhoods and communities. This failure to protect the safety of Virginia families is a fireable offense, and as a former criminal prosecutor, Jason has seen first-hand the toll violent crime has on victims, families and communities. As Virginia’s next Attorney General he will make your safety his mission to protect all Virginians.
Time and time again we have seen how our current Attorney General remained silent and failed to step in when local prosecutors allowed dozens of rioters to avoid prosecution for their crimes, effectively setting them free. Jason has a record of putting violent criminals behind bars, consistently defending Virginians and if local prosecutors are unable or unwilling to prosecute violent criminals he will step in.
It is time we stand with those that stand everyday to keep our communities safe and secure. We should be funding the police instead of defunding them, and give them the tools they need to succeed. Law enforcement officers risk their lives keeping our communities safe and they deserve to know we have their back. As a former prosecutor, Jason has worked with law enforcement and is honored to have the support of members of law enforcement, prosecutors and sheriffs throughout the commonwealth who are tired of a criminal first, victim last mindset in Richmond.
