Overview
- Roanoke College’s Oct. 22–27 poll of 1,041 likely voters finds Jason Miyares ahead of Jay Jones 46% to 38% with a weighted margin of error of 4.05%.
- Eighty percent of respondents had heard about Jones’ 2022 texts that imagined shooting then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and harming his family.
- Miyares told Newsmax his reelection is a “referendum on decency” and said the messages should disqualify Jones from serving as the state’s top prosecutor.
- Jones acknowledged and apologized for the texts as a “grave mistake” and argued Miyares failed to bring cases against President Trump and his administration.
- Among early voters who had already backed Jones, 87% said they would have voted for him regardless, and the poll’s analysis says Miyares now narrowly leads independents.