by Brandon Jarvis

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Monday that he is seeking reelection to a second term next year despite rumors he was considering running for the Republican nomination for governor.

“Three years ago, I made one promise to the people of Virginia — to keep you and your family safe. And as attorney general, I serve as the people’s protector,” Miyares said in a video announcing his campaign. “We cannot allow Virginia to return to the dangerous, failed policies of the past, where our law enforcement heroes were reviled, where criminals came first while victims came last.”

Running for reelection avoids a primary campaign with Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, who has already announced her run for governor. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is currently running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

“There was a lot of speculation about Miyares running for governor. But he’d have a very tough road ahead,” said Richard Meagher, a political science professor at Randolph Macon College. “He would have to defeat not just one, but two formidable women – in a year almost universally predicted to favor Democrats.”

Related: A poll on Sears v. Spanberger in 2025.

Miyares is currently the only Republican seeking the attorney general nomination. Two Democrats — former Norfolk Del. Jay Jones and Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor — are already in the race.

Miyares foreshadowed his reelection campaign by attacking both Jones and Taylor last week.

“Both of the announced Democrat candidates for Attorney General are far-left, anti-police, criminal rights progressives who will make Virginia less safe. They will support the same criminal first, victim last policies that lead to a surge in violent crime,” he wrote on social media. “Public safety demands we put victims over criminals. We aren’t going back to four years of lawlessness in Virginia.”

Jones did not respond to Miyares’ comment at the time.

Taylor replied directly on social media. “Given that I am the only one of the three people referenced in your post (including yourself) who has actually dedicated her career to keeping our community safe and putting dangerous criminals behind bars, your right-wing talking points are misdirected,” she wrote.

In his announcement Monday, Miyares touted his work with Project Ceasefire to reduce gun violence, suing social media companies over harmful effects on children and the One Pill Can Kill initiative to try and curb fentanyl overdoses in the commonwealth.

Miyares, who served three terms in the House of Delegates before winning the attorney general race in 2021, will have to work against the historical trend in Virginia, which shows that voters typically support statewide candidates who oppose the party in power at the White House. The only time this trend did not come true was in 2013 when Terry McAuliffe narrowly defeated far-right candidate Ken Cuccinelli.

In 2021, one year after Joe Biden’s 10-point win in the commonwealth. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Sears and Miyares squeaked out a narrow victory over their Democratic opponents. In 2017, one year after Donald Trump was elected, Democrats flipped 15 House seats and Democrats swept the statewide seats.

Meagher said that Miyares’ biggest advantage this cycle will be his incumbency.

“From a purely political perspective, his biggest advantage is incumbency,” he said. “If he’s going to buck the prevailing political and partisan winds and prevail against the supposed blue wave, incumbency will be a huge help.”

It also helps Republicans that Democrats will spend the next seven months battling for the nomination instead of focusing on the general election.

“Assuming no one challenges Miyares’ nomination, he’ll have a smooth path to the general election while Democrats jockey for position,” Meagher said.

After Miyares announced his reelection bid Monday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his endorsement of both Sears and Miyares.

“Since we took office together in 2022, we have delivered on our promises to strengthen the Spirit of Virginia by lowering the cost of living, jumpstarting job growth, empowering parents, keeping our communities safe, and making government work for Virginians,” he wrote. “There could not be a better team to carry on our success for Virginians for the next four years.”