Now that Republicans and Democrats have chosen their candidates for attorney general, voters are already seeing a bit of what the fall campaign season will look.
The campaign for attorney general features incumbent Democrat Mark Herring versus Republican Delegate Jason Miyares.
Herring lays out the choice this way. “On the one hand, my proven record of keeping Virginians safe and expanding and protecting the civil rights of all Virginians or conservative activity Jason Miyares who would roll back all of that progress and take us back to the dark days of Ken Cuccinelli."
During a debate organized by the Virginia State Bar Tuesday, Miyares responded to a question about freedom of the press by talking about a convicted murderer who was released on parole. He responded to a question about preventing gun violence by talking about an armed robber who was released on parole. And he responded to a question about protecting gender diversity and sexual orientation by talking about a man who killed a Richmond police officer. “Guess what, Vincent Martin got released by this parole board, and who was the parole board’s lawyer? Mark Herring. His number one job is to keep you and your family safe. By all objective standards, Mark Herring has failed at that job.”
Herring says that’s not true, but Miyares is trying to make the actions of the parole board a central feature of this campaign.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
