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Jason Miyares

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Jason Miyares
48th Attorney General of Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2022
GovernorGlenn Youngkin
Preceded byMark Herring
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 82nd district
In office
January 13, 2016 – January 12, 2022
Preceded byBill DeSteph
Succeeded byAnne Ferrell Tata
Personal details
Born
Jason Stuart Miyares

(1976-02-11) February 11, 1976 (age 48)
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpousePage Atkinson
Children3
EducationJames Madison University (BBA)
College of William and Mary (JD)
Signature

Jason Stuart Miyares (born February 11, 1976) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 48th Attorney General of Virginia since 2022. A Republican, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, from the 82nd district in northeastern Virginia Beach, and served three terms from 2016 to 2022. He was elected Attorney General of Virginia in 2021 defeating incumbent Mark Herring. The son of a refugee, he is the first Hispanic elected statewide in Virginia.[1]

Early life and education

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Miyares was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, and attended public schools in Virginia Beach.[2] His mother fled from Cuba in 1965.[3]

Miyares earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University, and a Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary’s Law School.[2] He was Chairman of the Hampton Roads Young Republicans and a founding member of the Hampton Roads Federalist Society.[4] He later served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Virginia Beach.[5][6]

Career

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Miyares worked on George Allen's 2000 Senate campaign.[7] He was later campaign manager and advisor to Republican Scott Rigell in the 2010 and 2012 congressional elections.[6][8] He was later a partner with the consulting firm Madison Strategies.[6] He also worked at the Virginia Beach law firm Hanger Law until his election to the office of Attorney General.

Virginia House of Delegates

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In 2015, Miyares ran for the Virginia House of Delegates' seat being vacated by Bill DeSteph, who ran successfully for the Virginia State Senate. Unopposed in the June 2015 Republican primary, he defeated Democrat Bill Fleming in the November 2015 general election.[9] He was the first Cuban American elected to the Virginia General Assembly.[3] He was reelected in 2017 and 2019.[10] He served on three committees: General Laws, Courts of Justice, and Transportation.[4] Miyares also served on the Virginia Board of Veterans Services and as Chairman of the Commission on Equal Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring and Diverse Communities.[4] He was the 2018 and 2019 "Legislator of the Year" by the College of Affordability and Public Trust and 2018 "Legislator of the Year" by the Hampton Roads Military Officers Association.[4] In 2019 he received the "Action Award" by the Safe House Project.[4]

Miyares voted against the Medicaid expansion bill (HB 5001) in the 2018 legislative session.[11]

He endorsed Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, and was Rubio's Virginia campaign co-chairman.[12] In 2016, amid the Cuban thaw, Miyares criticized Governor Terry McAuliffe's outreach to Cuba.[13] Miyares introduced a non-binding resolution (H.J. 1777) in 2016 condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.[14][15]

Miyares opposes abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy, with exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother; he supports maintaining access to the commonly used abortion pill mifepristone and opposes prosecuting people for abortions.[16][17] He supports the death penalty, and opposed the decision to abolish capital punishment in Virginia in 2021.[18][19] In 2020, Miyares opposed legislation to increase the minimum wage in Virginia.[20]

In August 2020, he offered HB 5037, a bill that would grant immunity, except in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence, to public officials and businesses who followed public health measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.[21]

In September 2020, Miyares voted against legislation to authorize local governments to remove Confederate monuments on public property.[22]

Virginia attorney general

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Election

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Main article: 2021 Virginia Attorney General election

In May 2021, Miyares was nominated as the Republican candidate for Virginia Attorney General. He ran against Mark Herring, the incumbent Democratic attorney general, who sought a third term in the November 2021 general election.[16][23] Miyares was selected at the Virginia Republican Party's "unassembled" convention, in which party delegates cast ranked-choice ballots at polling sites across the state.[23] Miyares defeated three other candidates: Leslie Haley, Chuck Smith, and Jack White.[23] In the final round, Miyares defeated Smith, a hard-right candidate, by a closer-than-expected margin of 52% to 48%.[24][25]

During his campaign against Herring, Miyares emphasized crime issues.[16] He opposed proposals for the elimination of qualified immunity and declined to take a position on what he would do in the controversial police killing of Bijan Ghaisar.[16] In the November 2021 election, Miyares defeated Herring in a tight race, becoming the first Hispanic and Cuban American to be elected Attorney General of Virginia.[26][27]

Tenure

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Abortion
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In January 2022, Miyares withdrew the Virginia AG Office's brief to the Supreme Court, submitted under his predecessor, supporting a challenge to Mississippi's abortion ban of restricting abortion to 15 weeks.[28]

On May 10, 2023, Miyares defended his decision to not join with 22 other Republican state attorneys general when they filed a lawsuit seeking to ban the abortion medication mifepristone, saying he supported the Food and Drug Administration's regulations. Miyares stated he believes in fostering compromise on abortion and supports a 15-week restriction on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Miyares does not believe in prosecuting people for abortions with Yahoo! News writing that he has "sought to stake out a more moderate conservative position on the issue."[29]

COVID-19
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In January 2022, Miyares issued an advisory opinion in which he concluded that Virginia's public colleges and universities lacked the power to require students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before enrolling or taking in-person classes. Such advisory opinions are not binding, although at least two institutions (George Mason University and Virginia Tech) dropped their vaccine requirement after Miyares issued the opinion.[30][31]

Elections
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On February 10, 2022, Miyares' deputy attorney general for government operations and transactions resigned when it was reported that she had spread misinformation about the 2020 election and praised the 2021 United States Capitol attack; in her position, she would have overseen matters related to future elections in Virginia. Miyares himself has affirmed that Joe Biden was legitimately elected president and has condemned the attack on the United States Capitol.[32][33]

On October 10, 2023, Miyares sent a cease-and-desist letter to a right-wing advocacy group over their misinformation pertaining to the 2023 Virginia elections.[34] Miyares stated, "Misinformation in our elections will not be tolerated in Virginia," and the group conformed to the letter.[34]

On December 29, 2023, Miyares won a case that involved "false and misleading" fliers from being distributed in Virginia elections.[35] Miyares said, "In Virginia, it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat. I’m proud of my Election Integrity Unit for taking action against voter misinformation and intimidation."[35] The fliers falsely attested that "if voters did not cast their ballots they could lose their Social Security income, Medicare eligibility, unemployment benefits, child tax credits, child custody rights, and concealed carry permits."[35]

Environment
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On September 13, 2023, Miyares announced an $80 million settlement with Monsanto to ameliorate "the environmental contamination in the Commonwealth, which was caused by Monsanto's distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)."[36] According to the settlement, the "funds will be directed toward restitution and remediation efforts... environmental studies, stream restoration projects, improvements to drinking water and wastewater systems, fisheries management, and land remediation efforts."[36]

Gun violence
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In 2022, Miyares started a targeted violence intervention initiative, Operation Ceasefire, to crack down on gun violence through "rigorous prosecution and community prevention" in 13 cities. The initiative was lauded after its first year with Democratic Speaker of the House of Delegates Don Scott allocating $22 million to help fund it for the next two years after overall crime dropped in 12 of the 13 cities and violent crime dropped in 9 of the 13 cities. There were 225 fewer crimes in 2023 than 2022 in the targeted cities with Norfolk seeing a third as many homicides.[37][38]

Opioids
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On April 16, 2024, Miyares announced a $108 million settlement from seven drug manufacturers and retailers for illegally pushing opioids.[39] Miyares praised his Consumer Protection team for negotiating the settlement with Virginia receiving over $1.1 billion in total opioid payouts under his team.[39] According to Miyares, the funds will be used to more "effectively prevent, reduce, and treat addiction at a localized level."[39]

Policing
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On September 7, 2023, Miyares reached a settlement with the Town of Windsor, in Isle of Wight County, over its alleged "discriminatory, unconstitutional policing" conduct.[40] Per the settlement, Windsor will have to "submit to an independent third-party review system for use-of-force complaints and other complaints of serious misconduct alleged against any officer."[40] The town police department will also have to "obtain accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, raising the bar on its internal investigation processes and officer training."[40] Jonathan Arthur, the attorney for Caron Nazario, a Black United States Army lieutenant, whose interaction with the Windsor police department prompted the investigation into its alleged discriminatory behavior, praised the settlement in an interview with WVEC.[40] Miyares said that "excessive use of force and violations of constitutional liberties will not be tolerated in Virginia."[40]

Reentry services
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On April 4, 2024, Miyares started a job fair program aimed at connecting "previously incarcerated individuals" to employers who had available job openings and were ready to hire former inmates.[41] Miyares said that his conversations with incarcerated individuals at state prisons spurred his push for expanding job fairs, "The number one thing I kept hearing from these gentlemen was, ‘I made some bad choices in my life, but I’m ready to turn my life around.’ The number one anxiety was, ‘Can I find work?"[41]

Retail theft
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In 2022, Miyares was directed by the Virginia General Assembly to study retail theft.[42] A report commissioned by Miyares found that $1.3 billion of retail goods were being stolen annually in Virginia, resulting in $80 million less in state sales tax revenue per annum.[42] The report led to Virginia passing a law in 2023 to raise the penalties for organized retail theft, defined as "steal[ing] retail merchandise with a value exceeding $5,000 in a 90-day period, with the intent to sell the stolen goods for profit", from a misdemeanor to a felony.[42]

Staffing
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Upon taking office in January 2022, Miyares fired 17 attorneys, and 13 other employees, in the Virginia AG's Office and the counsels for George Mason University (GMU) and the University of Virginia.[43][44][45][46] After the firings, Miyares hired former Commonwealth's Attorney for Arlington County and Falls Church City Theo Stamos, a moderate Democrat, to lead the conviction integrity unit.[47][48]

Tolls
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In January 2024, Loudoun County Supervisor Matt Letourneau and Miyares wrote to the State Corporation Commission on their opposition to increased tolls on State Route 267 (the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway in Loudoun and Fairfax counties).[49] The proposal would increase tolls from $5.25 to $6.40 (22%) for one way trips during regular hours and $5.80 to $8.10 (40%) for one way trips during peak hours with Miyares calling the proposed hikes an "unreasonable financial burden" for commuters.[49]

Electoral history

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Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia House of Delegates, 82nd district
November 3, 2015[50] General Jason S. Miyares Republican 10,046 65.19
William W. Fleming Democratic 5,335 34.62
Write-ins 29 0.19
Bill DeSteph ran for Senate; seat stayed Republican
Date Election Candidate Party Votes %
Virginia Attorney General
November 2, 2021[51] General Jason S. Miyares Republican 1,647,100 50.36
Mark R. Herring Democratic 1,620,564 49.55
Write-ins 2,995 0.09

Personal life

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Miyares and his wife, Page (Atkinson) Miyares, have three daughters and live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[52] His father-in-law, John Atkinson, was formerly treasurer of Virginia Beach.[6] Miyares is a member of the Galilee Episcopal Church and a past President of the Cape Henry Rotary, where he was a Paul Harris Fellow.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Gamboa, Suzanne. "Republican Jason Miyares makes history as Virginia's first Latino attorney general". www.nbcnews.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Official Legislative Profile".
  3. ^ a b Vozella, Laura (January 2, 2016). "Va. Republican challenges McAuliffe to meet with dissidents in Cuba". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Jason S. Miyares". Virginia Capitol Connections. Winter 2022. p. 5.
  5. ^ McKinney, Matt (November 4, 2015). "Miyares wins Virginia House of Delegates 82nd District". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d Matt McKinney, Miyares wins Virginia House of Delegates 82nd District, The Virginian-Pilot (November 4, 2014).
  7. ^ Jenna Portnoy, How George Allen's chief of staff inspired legislation to make it easier for gay couples to raise children, Washington Post (February 26, 2019).
  8. ^ Todd Allen Wilson, Hirschbiel calls for reform of Congress, pay cuts for lawmakers, Daily Press (July 11, 2012).
  9. ^ Official election results. Virginia State Board of Elections
  10. ^ Miyares wins GOP nod for attorney general, Inside NoVa (May 10, 2021).
  11. ^ "HB5001". LIS Virginia. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  12. ^ Laura Vozzella, Rubio announces more Virginia endorsements, Washington Post (February 2, 2016).
  13. ^ Schneider, Gregory (February 1, 2017). "Richmond notebook: Rapt silence, then applause for a lawmaker with a critique of McAuliffe's Cuba outreach". The Washington Post.
  14. ^ "STATEWIDE JEWISH COMMUNITY PRAISES THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR OVERWHELMINGLY PASSING H177, A FORCEFUL CONDEMNATION OF THE ANTI-ISRAEL BDS MOVEMENT" (PDF). JCRC. March 9, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2016.
  15. ^ "LIS > Bill Tracking > HJ177 > 2016 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d Matthew Barakat, Herring seeks 3rd term as AG; Miyares stands in his way, Associated Press (October 12, 2021).
  17. ^ Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie, Republican Virginia Attorney General Miyares defends staying out of abortion pill case, AP (May 10, 2023).
  18. ^ Sarah Rankin, Virginia House joins Senate in voting to end death penalty, Associated Press (February 5, 2021).
  19. ^ Denise Lavoie, Virginia, with 2nd-most executions, outlaws death penalty, Associated Press (March 24, 2021).
  20. ^ Gregory S. Schneider, [1], Washington Post (March 8, 2020).
  21. ^ "Virginia lawmakers working to pass bills making it tougher to sue over COVID-19 issues". WTKR. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  22. ^ Laura Vozzella, Two Republicans running statewide in Virginia back Lee statue removal, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Washington Post (September 9, 2020).
  23. ^ a b c Virginia GOP announces AG nominee; vote-counting to continue, Associated Press (May 9, 2021).
  24. ^ Candidate seeks recount in Virginia attorney general race, Associated Press (May 10, 2021).
  25. ^ Mel Leonor, Del. Jason Miyares edges Chuck Smith to win GOP nomination for attorney general, Richmond Times-Dispatch (May 10, 2021).
  26. ^ Nate Raymond, Republican Miyares defeats Herring in Virginia attorney general race, Reuters (November 3, 2021)
  27. ^ Miyares defeats Herring in tight race for Virginia attorney general, Daily Press (November 3, 2021).
  28. ^ North, Emma (January 22, 2022). "Attorney General Miyares: Virginia no longer opposes 15-week abortion ban". WRIC ABC 8News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  29. ^ Rankin, Sarah; Lavoie, Denise (May 10, 2023). "Republican Virginia Attorney General Miyares defends staying out of abortion pill case". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  30. ^ Justin Jouvenal, Lauren Lumpkin and Hannah Natanson, Virginia's public colleges and universities can't require coronavirus vaccine, new GOP attorney general finds, Washington Post (January 28, 2021).
  31. ^ Sands, Tim (January 31, 2022). "From President Tim Sands: Changes in vaccine mandate, plans for successful semester". news.vt.edu. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  32. ^ "Deputy Va. attorney general resigns after revelation of Facebook posts praising Jan. 6 rioters, claiming Trump won election". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  33. ^ Jiménez, Jesus; Chung, Christine (February 11, 2022). "Praise for Jan. 6 Costs Virginia Deputy Attorney General Her Job". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  34. ^ a b Ben Peters, Virginia attorney general orders right-wing group to halt voting misinformation campaign, InsideNoVa (October 10, 2023)
  35. ^ a b c Dunn, Hailey (December 29, 2023). "Virginia AG Jason Miyares wins election integrity case". WVEC. Tegna Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  36. ^ a b Hercyk, Ezra (September 13, 2023). "Virginia Attorney General secures $80M from Monsanto for distribution of toxic chemicals". WJLA. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  37. ^ Payne, Raven (March 20, 2024). "Attorney General Miyares discusses crime reduction rates in Ceasefire Cities". Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  38. ^ Blair, Tannock (March 21, 2024). "Miyares credits Operation Ceasefire with decrease in murder, other crimes across Virginia". WRIC-TV. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  39. ^ a b c Gonzalez, Will (April 16, 2024). "Virginia receives $100 million from 7 opioid settlements". WRIC-TV. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  40. ^ a b c d e Steger, Preston (September 7, 2023). "Virginia AG Miyares, Town of Windsor resolve lawsuit alleging 'pattern of discriminatory policing'". 13newsnow.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  41. ^ a b Payne, Raven (April 4, 2024). "'Everyone deserves a second chance': Hampton Roads job fair connects previously incarcerated people to employers". WAVY-TV. Nexstar Media Group. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  42. ^ a b c Lavoie, Denise; Rankin, Sarah (February 23, 2023). "Virginia cracks down on organized retail theft". WRC-TV. NBC Owned Television Stations. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  43. ^ Patrick Wilson, Miyares fires 30 in AG's office, including lawyer investigating dangerous conditions at Richmond apartments, Richmond Times-Dispatch (January 14, 2022).
  44. ^ Patrick Wilson, Partisan debate erupts in Va. Senate over Miyares' firing of 30 in AG's office, Richmond Times-Dispatch (January 18, 2022).
  45. ^ Goncalves, Delia (January 21, 2022). "Miyares' 'backup plan' would give concurrent jurisdiction to AG's office, allowing police and sheriff to bypass local prosecutor's office". wusa9.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  46. ^ Justin Jouvenal and Lauren Lumpkin, Va.'s new attorney general fires U-Va. counsel who was on leave working as top investigator for Jan. 6 panel, Washington Post (January 23, 2021).
  47. ^ Justin Jouvenal, Miyares plans to be ‘new sheriff in town’ as Virginia attorney general, The Washington Post (January 19, 2022).
  48. ^ C.J. Ciaramella, New Virginia Attorney General Fires Entire Conviction Integrity Unit, Reason (January 21, 2022).
  49. ^ a b Torres, Matthew (January 30, 2024). "More pushback against proposed Dulles Greenway toll increase". WUSA. Tegna Inc. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  50. ^ "November 2015 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  51. ^ "November 2021 General Election Official Results". Virginia State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  52. ^ "Del. Jason Miyares running for Va. attorney general in 2021". WAVY.com. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
[edit]
Virginia House of Delegates
Preceded by Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 82nd district
2016–2022 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Attorney General of Virginia
2021 		Most recent
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Virginia
2022–present 		Incumbent
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