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Both Democrats say they bring compelling r茅sum茅s and hometown credibility, yet they draw clear contrasts between courtroom gravitas and the hustle of a political trailblazer.

The winner in the June 17 primary will face Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican who is seeking reelection in November.

Primary voters are weighing whether they prefer Taylor鈥檚 record of high-stakes prosecutions or Jones鈥� vision of a reinvigorated, rights-focused Attorney General鈥檚 office.

Jones, 36, first won election to the House of Delegates in 2017, representing Norfolk. He resigned in 2021 after winning reelection. That year, he launched a statewide bid for attorney general and lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring, 56% to 43%. Herring then lost a close race to Miyares by about 27,000 votes.

The son and grandson of civil rights attorneys, Jones grew up steeped in the legal battles for desegregation and equal opportunity. He says his two young sons played a part in inspiring his bid for the attorney general鈥檚 office.

鈥淚 want to give my children the best life possible. Being a father and seeing what鈥檚 happening in this world makes me nervous and makes me scared, and that鈥檚 why I know that I鈥檝e got to step up and do something,鈥� Jones said.

鈥淭his was the moment where all of the things that I鈥檝e done over the course of my career鈥� lent themselves to being the next attorney general of Virginia, Jones said, 鈥渢o use this office as it should be, to fight for people, and not for a particular person in Washington or a particular special interest.鈥�

As an attorney at Hogan Lovells, one of the largest law firms in the world, Jones says he has focused on policy and regulatory matters, including social, environmental and corporate governance issues. He also previously served as an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.

Taylor, 57, has spent 14 years as Henrico County鈥檚 top prosecutor, earning a reputation as a no-nonsense trial lawyer. She has overseen thousands of prosecutions, tried hundreds of jury cases, and led teams of investigators and assistant attorneys in high-profile actions against Klansmen and white supremacists, most notably her 2020 prosecution of local Klan operatives and her special-prosecutor role after the 2017 鈥淯nite the Right鈥� rallies in Charlottesville.

A Charlottesville native, Taylor served in the Richmond Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney鈥檚 Office before serving twice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, handling federal prosecutions alongside veteran trial teams. From 2004 to 2008, she was special counsel to the Richmond Multi-Jurisdictional Grand Jury, coordinating complex investigations across city and county lines.

Taylor says the difference between herself and Jones is 鈥渁ctual experience vs. not.鈥�

鈥淚 have the actual cases to cite ... when I say that I鈥檝e been a leader in the courtroom, leading a group of investigators and attorneys 鈥� like when I prosecuted the Klansmen in my jurisdiction in 2020, like when I was asked to serve as a special prosecutor for one of the white supremacists who marched on the Lawn of the University of Virginia back in that terrible weekend of August of 2017,鈥� Taylor said.

鈥淵ou know that I鈥檝e actually been in the courtroom. I have actually created the argument and bought those fights. My profile is a learned attorney. I am a trial lawyer. My profile is not a professional politician.

鈥淧eople know that when I say that I鈥檓 going to fight for them, I actually have the bona fides to back it up. And I really think that is why it鈥檚 resonating with the voters.鈥�

Trump and Musk

Both campaigns have prioritized messaging about their intentions to fight back against President Donald Trump and his senior adviser, Elon Musk. Both criticize Miyares for not taking legal action against Trump鈥檚 actions such as the mass layoffs of federal workers.

Jones and Taylor both noted that many other state attorneys general have joined lawsuits against the Trump administration, challenging the administration鈥檚 actions on funding cuts, tariffs and immigration enforcement, among other issues.

鈥淲e need an attorney general who will do what (Miyares) refuses to do, which is stand up to Trump鈥檚 attacks on our economy, our rights and our democracy. We鈥檝e got to go to court,鈥� Jones said.

鈥淒emocratic attorneys general have sued to stop this chaos and stop this madness, and when we don鈥檛 participate in those lawsuits, we don鈥檛 get the benefit of the protections that they鈥檝e earned.鈥�

Taylor criticized the administration鈥檚 new Department of Government Efficiency, the agency tasked with making cuts to the federal budget.

鈥淚鈥檓 a prosecutor. I know fraud, and this is not how you go about doing it,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭he idea that we want to get back to efficiency by gutting certain revenue programs like Social Security, (Medicare or Medicaid), the fact that we would attack those revenue streams in the name of government efficiency is wrong, and I want to be there to fight back, say that it鈥檚 wrong, and protect Virginia.鈥�

Gun violence prevention

When Jones served as an assistant attorney general in D.C., his office sued Polymer80, a manufacturer of kits of firearm parts that included unfinished receivers used for making privately made firearms, also known as ghost guns. The company ceased business last year citing overwhelming legal costs.

鈥�(The Virginia attorney general) has a tremendous role to play in gun violence prevention, and we鈥檝e got an issue with that in Virginia, and it is affecting so many communities, not just a particular one or two,鈥� Jones said.

鈥淚鈥檝e done this as an assistant attorney general, when we sued the largest ghost gun manufacturer in the country and brought them to their knees, put them out of business,鈥� Jones said.

Jones said as Virginia鈥檚 attorney general, he would take on gun manufacturers, corporations and those who are protecting them.

鈥淲e have a massive platform, in conjunction with the legislature and hopefully a Democratic governor, to continue to build on the reforms that we made in 2020 and 2021,鈥� Jones said.

Taylor previously served as a special assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the Richmond office of the U.S Attorney鈥檚 Office for Project Exile, an aggressive gun violence prevention program that lowered the homicide rate during an especially violent time in Richmond.

鈥淚 know what these programs are doing in terms of understanding that there are certain localities that don鈥檛 have the resources to be able to address gun violence in their areas,鈥� Taylor said.

鈥淚 would support the project that we engage in, where we allow assistant attorneys general鈥� to help 鈥渢he 120 prosecutors across this commonwealth who may not have the bandwidth or infrastructure to be able to go and handle violent crime cases.鈥�

Taylor criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin鈥檚 administration for using money that was earmarked for youth programs for . The 鈥済ame over鈥� campaign warned about the consequences of carrying illegal guns.

鈥淭aking money appropriated for fatalities and prevention programs and serving its own interests鈥� I will not allow that to happen under my watch,鈥� Taylor said.