Jay Jones is an American lawyer and politician. He is serving as the 49th attorney general of Virginia since 2026. Previously, he served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 89th district from 2018 to 2022
Personal Information
Complete Name –> Jerrauld Charles Corey Jones
Nickname –> Jay Jones
Birth Date –> March 14, 1989 (Age )
Birth Place –> Norfolk, Virginia, United States of America
Hometown –> City, , United States of America
Political Party –> Democratic Party
Family
Father –> Former Norfolk Circuit Court judge Jerrauld Jones
Mother –> Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court judge Lyn M. Simmons
Wife –> Mavis Baah (married 2020)
Children –> 2
Education
College –> College of William & Mary (BA in government and history)
Law School –> University of Virginia (JD)
Biography
Jerrauld “Jay” Charles Corey Jones was born on March 14, 1989, in Norfolk, Virginia. He was raised in a family deeply rooted in the legal and civil rights history of the Commonwealth. After graduating from Norfolk Collegiate School, he attended the College of William & Mary, where he double-majored in history and government, graduating in 2010. Following his undergraduate studies, he moved to New York City to work in risk management and ratings for Goldman Sachs. He later returned to Virginia to attend the University of Virginia School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor in 2015.
Upon completing law school, Jones began his legal career in private practice in Norfolk, specializing in civil litigation. In 2017, he entered the political arena, winning the election to the Virginia House of Delegates for the 89th District, the same seat his father had occupied decades earlier. At age 28, he was the youngest member of the General Assembly. During his tenure (2018–2022), he became a prominent voice on the House Appropriations Committee and successfully championed the “Ashanti Alert,” a missing persons alert for adults that has since been adopted as a national model. His legislative record was defined by advocacy for environmental justice, voting rights, and expanding Medicaid.
In 2021, Jones made his first bid for Attorney General, finishing second in the Democratic primary to incumbent Mark Herring. Shortly after, in early 2022, he resigned from the House of Delegates to focus on his growing family. During this hiatus from public office, he served as a senior associate at the international law firm Hogan Lovells and worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. In 2025, he launched a second campaign for Attorney General, winning a competitive primary before defeating incumbent Republican Jason Miyares in the general election on November 4, 2025.
On January 17, 2026, Jay Jones was sworn in as the 49th Attorney General of Virginia, making history as the first Black person to hold the office. Upon taking office, he immediately initiated a “legal reset,” launching a 30-day review of all existing state litigation. His early actions have focused on protecting reproductive healthcare access, defending Virginia’s in-state tuition laws, and re-entering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). He has positioned his office as a check on federal overreach, frequently joining multistate lawsuits to protect consumer rights and environmental standards.
See also: Ghazala Hashmi Biography