Richmond, VA — Virginia Republicans' rigged nominating convention has yielded its first result, with party insiders choosing GOP Delegate Jason Miyares as their nominee for attorney general. Miyares barely eked out a win against Amanda Chase's preferred candidate, Chuck Smith, a sign that Chase's far-right base commands enormous influence in the Virginia GOP. 

Miyares himself is a Trump acolyte who earned top marks from the NRA and VCDL. His extreme record includes staunch opposition to gun safety bills in the House of Delegates, a vote against raising pay for teachers and law enforcement this year, and opposition to popular criminal justice reform measures. 

While strong bipartisan majorities of Virginians support gun safety legislation, Miyares has pushed a far-right agenda in the General Assembly. He voted against a universal background checks bill, rejected the red flag bill, opposed the one handgun per month rule, and voted against a bill to let local governments impose their own gun restrictions. 

Miyares has also stood opposed to common sense criminal justice reform measures. He voted against a bill to prevent no-knock search warrants, a bill to reduce the amount of military equipment available to police departments, a bill to create minimum training standards for law enforcement officers, a bill that requires officers to intervene if they see another officer engaging in the use of excessive force, and others.

This year Miyares voted against marijuana legalization and a bipartisan bill to seal some criminal records to make it easier for Virginians to find housing and get jobs. At a time when Virginians are calling out for reforms to make the commonwealth more just and equitable, Miyares ignored them and stuck to his extreme right-wing record. 

"Jason Miyares came within inches of losing to Chuck Smith, an all-out conspiracy theorist and Amanda Chase supporter. Now he'll have to move even further to the right to win her voters -- alienating Virginians across the commonwealth. We need an attorney general committed to ensuring justice and safety for everyone, not advancing an extreme agenda that puts Virginians at risk and preserves an unjust status quo," said DPVA Communications Director Grant Fox. "With Republican Party insiders nominating an extreme candidate like Miyares for attorney general, the stakes are clear for Virginians this November."

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