Some Virginians split their vote to pick Miyares over Jones: VPAP

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- When casting their ballot for Virginia's next attorney general, a sizeable portion of voters who chose Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) crossed the aisle to pick incumbent Jason Miyares (R) over her running mate, whose campaign was mired in controversy.

Attorney General-elect Jay Jones (D), a former Virginia delegate, came under heavy fire after violent texts he sent during his time in the House were shared in October.

Miyares was vocal about his belief that these messages, in which Jones described a former top Republican being shot, among other things, should disqualify his opponent -- an opinion that even President Donald Trump shared.

Ultimately, Jones weathered this storm and was chosen by Virginia voters as their next attorney general on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

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However, while his running mates both had margins of 10 points or higher over their opponents, he won on a smaller 5-point margin -- meaning there was a significant number of Democratic voters who did not just vote down the blue ticket.

Data from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) found that, statewide, Spanberger secured about 4.5% more of Virginia's voters than Jones did. This statistic is known as "voter falloff."

While 4.5% may not seem like a large number at first glance, according to preliminary election data from the Associated Press, the gap between Spanberger and Jones includes over 171,000 voters.

Notably, on Election Day, Miyares made a post on X in which he advocated for voters to split their vote between Spanberger and himself rather than vote for his opponent.

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When broken down by county, this year's voter falloff in several Central Virginia localities stands out -- especially in Goochland County, which tied with Arlington for the highest voter falloff between Spanberger and Jones anywhere in the Commonwealth.

Central Virginia localities with higher voter falloffs include:

• Goochland County: 6.1%
• Henrico County: 5.6%
• Hanover County: 5.4%
• Albemarle County: 5.0%
• Chesterfield County: 4.9%
• City of Richmond: 4.5%
• Powhatan County: 4.5%
• Louisa County: 4%

Per VPAP, this is the highest voter falloff between a gubernatorial and attorney general candidate since 2001. During that election cycle, former governor Mark Warner (D) won with 52.2% of the vote -- but his running mate, future U.S. Rep. Don McEachin, lost with 39.9% of the vote.

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This reporting is based on preliminary election results from VPAP and outlets like the Associated Press. All election results are unofficial until certified by Virginia’s State Board of Elections.

8News is your Local Election Headquarters. To check out more of our reporting on the 2025 General and Special Elections, click here. For more election results, click here.