Former Virginia Del. Jay Jones (D) was projected to oust incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) in the race for the state’s top law enforcement spot on Tuesday, staving off a texting controversy that dogged his candidacy in the campaign’s final month. 

While the race was always considered one of the more competitive statewide contests in Virginia this cycle, it was roiled in its final stretch by resurfaced violent texts sent by Jones in 2022 about then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R).

“Three people, two bullets,” Jones wrote in a text to Del. Carrie Coyner (R) about Gilbert. 

“Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot,” Jones wrote. “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”

“Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones told Coyner.

Coyner, in response, told Jones, who at the time did not hold an elected office, to stop.

Jones apologized for the texts, but Republicans from Miyares to President Trump used the scandal to attack the Democrat throughout the final month of the campaign.

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State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) defeated conservative talk show host John Reid in the Virginia lieutenant governor’s race on Tuesday, becoming the first Indian person to hold statewide office in the commonwealth and the first Muslim woman to win a statewide race in the U.S.

Hashmi led Reid throughout the general election, but polling in the race narrowed considerably in the run-up to Election Day.

Hashmi narrowly won her Democratic primary in June, defeating former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and state Sen. Aaron Rouse. 

Hashmi hails from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and had the support of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) in the primary.

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Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in Virginia’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, becoming the first woman to serve as governor of the commonwealth. 

Her victory in the closely watched bellwether state will be touted by the Democrats’ moderate wing in particular, as the party wrestles with how to define itself heading into next year’s midterm elections.

Spanberger first came onto the political scene in 2018 when she ousted former Republican Rep. Dave Brat in the state’s 7th Congressional District. She served in Congress, where she had a history of working with Republicans, from 2019 to the beginning of 2025. 

Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign kicked off two years ago, and while there was speculation Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was considering a run as well, the former congresswoman went unchallenged in the primary. 

Her campaign was defined by its highly disciplined nature, with Spanberger staying focused on her affordability message and defending Virginia from the impacts of President Trump’s cuts to the federal workforce.

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Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) defeated former New Jersey General Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli (R) in the New Jersey governor’s race, securing a major win for Democrats in their first election cycle since the start of President Trump’s second term, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Sherrill, a fourth-term congresswoman representing a district in northern New Jersey, fended off a competitive challenge from Ciattarelli, who ran for governor for a third time after narrowly losing to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021. Murphy is term-limited and couldn’t run again.

The race turned increasingly competitive in recent weeks, with some polling showing the election as a toss-up, as both candidates grappled with crisscrossing political headwinds.

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