FIRST ON FOX: A group of 19 Virginia sheriffs has thrown their political weight behind incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares after Democrats nominated former Virginia state Del. Jay Jones to challenge him in November. 

“The choice is clear. The decision is ours,” the group of Virginia sheriffs said in a letter to their colleagues just days after the primary. 

The sheriffs praised Miyares’ “commitment to Virginia’s law enforcement community and first responders” and urged their fellow Virginia sheriffs to coalesce behind the incumbent attorney general for re-election.

Jones, a former assistant attorney general, has centered his campaign on protecting Virginia from President Donald Trump’s administration. In a letter to the sheriffs of Virginia, the group of 19 sheriffs frame Jones’ policy platform as anti-law enforcement.

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“Jay Jones has been an outspoken advocate of the many tools weaponized to weaken Virginia’s law enforcement community, replacing prosecutors with social workers, who put criminals first and victims dead last. The litany of legislation aimed not at criminals but at law enforcement is not just a failure of policy, but a policy designed to fail Virginia families,” the sheriffs said. 

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They touted the “tremendous progress Virginia’s law enforcement professionals have achieved over the last four years,” as the sheriffs urged their colleagues to prevent Jones from returning a “tidal wave of lawlessness, violence, and illicit drug activity.”

“We ask that you join so many of us in the law enforcement community in standing united in our support of Attorney General Jason Miyares and ask each and every single member of Virginia law enforcement community to remind our friends, families, and local communities to remember the difference four years makes. We cannot go back to four more years of lawlessness, violence, and resistance to the men and women who serve,” the sheriffs said. 

In the letter, the sheriffs outlined legislation supported by Jones they say is “designed to fail Virginia families.”

Those policies include investigating law enforcement for “pattern and practice” violations, causing “direct harm to Virginians” through Enhanced Earned Sentencing Credits (EESC), eliminating cashless bail and supporting qualified immunity, which they said would make it easier to sue police officers for civil rights violations. 

They also detailed Jones’ support for eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing for selling drugs to minors in schools and school resource officers (SROs), which they said makes schools more dangerous. 

The letter was signed by Virginia Sheriffs Kyle M. Moore, William Kidd Jr., Travis M. Sumption, Richard A. Vaughan, Hank Partin, Robert Richardson, Whit W. Clark III, Darrell L. Hodges, Wayne Davis, Bryan Hutcheson, Mike Miller, Kevin Kemp, Jeremy Flemming, Donald Lowe, Brian Hieatt, Brian K. Roberts, Jayson Crawley, Jeremy A. Falls and Donald T. Sloan. 

Virginia is one of two states holding statewide elections this year, and the election results will be used as a bellwether ahead of the competitive 2026 midterm elections. 

On the campaign trail, Jones has applauded how attorneys general have sued the Trump administration to unlock federal funding and reject executive overreach, “but here in Virginia, MAGA extremist Attorney General Jason Miyares has put politics first and refused to join in the effort to defend against unconstitutional and un-American Trump policies.”

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“Virginia needs leaders who will put Virginia first. Who will stand up to the powerful corporate special interests. Who will stand up for the rule of law. Who will keep us safe. And that’s exactly what I will do as your attorney general,” Jones said after securing the Democratic nomination for attorney general last week. 

Jones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.