Texts vs. Trump: Virginia voters to decide which is more important in Attorney General’s race

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- With Election Day just two weeks from Tuesday, all eyes are on which issues will decide the race for Virginia's attorney general.

Democrat Jay Jones is trying to highlight Republican incumbent Jason Miyares’ ties to President Donald Trump, something Randolph-Macon political science professor Rich Meagher said is a smart move considering Trump is unpopular in Virginia. 

“So I think it’s kind of a risk and economics [or] pocketbook argument that the Jones campaign is doing, and that will both fire up the Democratic base and reach out to this sort of independent middle,” Meagher told 8News. 

Meanwhile, Miyares is continuing to highlight text messages Jones sent in 2022, suggesting former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert be shot. Meagher said it’s a smart way for Miyares to hammer home that he is the "law and order" candidate. 

MORE: Republicans see Jones’ texts, government shutdown as opening in VA elections

“The text messages play into [the idea that] Jay Jones is someone who is unfit to be the top prosecutor, not just because he’s soft on crime, but also because he has these disqualifying text messages about violence [and] he doesn’t take violence seriously,” Meagher said.

So, which message will work? Meagher said it depends on which issues Virginians care about the most. 

“I think, in the end, it might be national factors -- it might be the national mood, it might be national party affiliation -- that really makes the difference in this election, as it has in a lot of state elections in the past few years,” Meagher told 8News.