Del. Jason Miyares has been projected by The Associated Press as the winner of the attorney general’s race in Virginia, completing a Republican sweep of the commonwealth’s three statewide offices.
Attorney General Mark Herring, whom Miyares has denied a third term, conceded to Miyares Wednesday afternoon: “This afternoon I called Jason Miyares to congratulate him on his victory and assure him that my team and I will do all we can to ensure a smooth and effective transition,” Herring said via Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Miyares will become the first Latino to hold statewide office in Virginia.
“We’ve made history, Virginia,” he said in a tweet Wednesday. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It’s the greatest honor of my life — and I can’t wait to get started.”
Republicans Glenn Youngkin and Winsome Sears are the projected winners in elections for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Sears will be the first Black woman to hold statewide office in Virginia.
Youngkin, a former business executive in his first run for office, was considered a long shot as little as a month ago, but he defeated former governor Terry McAuliffe, who was in office from 2014 to 2018 and conceded Wednesday morning.
Youngkin performed strongly in traditional Republican areas, and made inroads in areas such as Loudoun and Prince William counties — not winning, but doing well enough to hold McAuliffe off, WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller said.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Tuesday night that Youngkin did much better than expected in Loudoun and Prince William counties, where he’s at nearly 45% and 47%, respectively.
Sears, a former delegate, said in her introduction of Youngkin during the predawn hours of Wednesday, “What you are looking at is the American dream,” flanked by her family and recalling her father’s journey from Jamaica in 1963.
“It’s a historic night, but I didn’t want to make history,” Sears said. “I just wanted to leave it better than I found it.”
“Over the last eight years, we have made Virginia a more just, fair, safe and prosperous place for all,” Herring said, touting gun safety laws, expanded access to health care and more.
“We have had the honor of writing an amazing chapter in the history of our state,” Herring said, “and for that I will always be grateful.”
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