Jay Jones is a former Assistant Attorney General and lawmaker, a husband, and a dad to two boys running for Attorney General to fight for Virginia families and stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s dangerous agenda. A lifelong resident of Norfolk, Jay’s call to public service was generations in the making.
Jay Jones is running for Attorney General to protect Virginia families — from crime and violence, corporate price gouging, and politicians with extreme agendas attacking our rights and Virginia workers. Because Jay knows that our democracy has always depended on people willing to fight for it.
As a member of the House of Delegates, Jay protected abortion rights, expanded Medicaid, and gave teachers annual pay raises. In Richmond, he championed energy and environmental policies that lowered Virginians’ energy bills and protected our air, water, and land. A tireless legislator, Jay also wrote legislation known as the “Ashanti Alert,” establishing a missing persons alert for adults in the Commonwealth. The “Ashanti Alert” is now used nationwide.
Jay previously 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. In this role he took on the gun lobby to keep families safe from violent crime, sued corporate special interests to prevent higher grocery prices, and went after big banks and slumlords preying on consumers.
An accomplished litigator, Jay led the fight on behalf of the Virginia NAACP against the Youngkin Administration to protect voting rights. Jay has also advocated tirelessly for reproductive healthcare access and abortion rights as a member of the Virginia Planned Parenthood board.
The descendant of slaves, Jay’s family has been in Norfolk since the early 20th century. His grandfather, Hilary H. Jones, Sr., was a pioneering Civil Rights attorney in Norfolk and became the first Black member of the Norfolk School Board. In 1969, he was appointed to the State Board of Education, the first Black person to be named to the board in the history of Virginia.
Jay’s father, Jerrauld C. Jones, is one of the few Virginians to serve in all three branches of state government. He was a member of the General Assembly from 1988 – 2002, served as Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice under Governor Mark Warner and is a retired Circuit Court judge. His mother, Lyn Simmons, is currently a judge on the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court after a long career as a prosecutor and attorney in private practice.
Like his family, Jay is dedicated to ensuring his community and Commonwealth embraces every family — no matter who you are or where you come from.
Jay completed his undergraduate studies at the College of William and Mary, and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia. Jay, his wife Mavis, and two sons live in Norfolk, where they are members of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
