(The Center Square) – Former Del. Jay Jones secured the Democratic nomination for Virginia attorney general Tuesday, while State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi declared victory in the lieutenant governor primary as ballots continued to be counted.
The attorney general race was called for Jones just after 10 p.m., as he held a narrow lead over Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor. With nearly all localities reporting, Jones had 51% of the vote, according to the Virginia Department of Elections and VPAP.
The lieutenant governor primary remained too close to call as of late Tuesday, but Hashmi claimed the nomination in a public statement, writing that Virginians “made history” and sent a message that they “won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”
Hashmi led a six-way Democratic field with just under 28% of the vote, followed closely by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Del. Aaron Rouse. As of 10:30 p.m., roughly 1,500 early votes had yet to be counted, and the race had not been called.
If her lead holds, Hashmi would join Jones and gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger on the November ticket.
The winners of the Democratic primaries will face Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares, and John Reid, who secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor unopposed. All three Republicans advanced automatically after no other candidates qualified for their party’s primary.
Unofficial results are being reported by the Virginia Department of Elections and will be certified in the coming days.
