Jerrauld C. C. "Jay" Jones (born March 14, 1989) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from the 89th district. In July 2020, Jones announced his candidacy for

attorney general of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

in the 2021 election. Jones lost the Democratic primary to incumbent

Mark Herring Mark Rankin Herring (born September 25, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virginia since a 2006 special election, ...

, despite receiving an endorsement from Governor

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

. In December 2021, Jones announced his resignation to focus on family.

Early life and education

Jay Jones was born in Norfolk to

Jerrauld Jones Jerrauld Corey Jones (born July 22, 1954) is an American politician and jurist. He was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1988-2002, representing the 89th District in Norfolk. He is currently a judge of the Norfolk Circu ...

and Lyn M. Simmons. He is the grandson of Hilary H. Jones, Jr. (an attorney and civil rights pioneer in Norfolk) and Corinne D. Jones (a Norfolk school teacher) and Charles and Margaret Simmons, who were tenured professors at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

and

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

, respectively. He attended

Norfolk Collegiate School Norfolk Collegiate is a coeducational independent day school in Norfolk, Virginia for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Norfolk Collegiate is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS). It's also a member ...

and graduated in 2006. Jones then went on to attend the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

as a William & Mary Scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and history. During college, Jones served as a legislative intern for

Paula Miller Paula Jean Miller (born August 1, 1959) is an American politician. She was a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates 2005–2012, representing the 87th district in the city of Norfolk. She ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic n ...

in 2009.

Career

After college, Jones spent two years in New York as an associate with

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

, where he focused on risk management and credit rating advisory, focusing on natural resources and technology companies. He then returned to Virginia and earned his Juris Doctor from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 2015. While in law school, Jones interned in the office of

Algie Howell Algie Thomas Howell, Jr. (born January 8, 1938) is an American politician. From 2004 to 2014 he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 90th district, made up of parts of the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He is a m ...

. Jones serves on several boards in Hampton Roads, and is a lifelong member of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. He is a practicing trial attorney based in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

Virginia House of Delegates

On February 13, 2017, Jones announced his candidacy for the

, running for the same seat his father held from 1988 to 2002. On June 13, 2017, Jones won a contested Democratic primary to become the Democratic nominee for Virginia's 89th district. On November 7, 2017, he defeated

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

candidate, Terry Hurst, to become the Delegate-elect for the 89th district and sworn in on January 10, 2018. He succeeded

Daun Hester Daun Sessoms Hester (born October 7, 1955) is an American politician and educator. She served on the nonpartisan Norfolk, Virginia City Council 1996–2010, and was vice mayor 2004–08. Early life, education, family Hester was born in ...

. Jones ran for reelection unopposed in the 2019 election cycle. Jones was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee at the beginning of his second term. In September 2019, Jones endorsed

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sena ...

in the

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...

. In December 2021, Jones resigned from the Virginia House of Delegates following the announcement that he and his wife are expecting their first child in summer 2022. Jones' replacement fellow Democrat Jackie Glass was elected to succeed him in a special election held on January 11, 2022.

2021 Virginia attorney general election

Jones was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the

2021 Virginia Attorney General election The 2021 Virginia attorney general election was held on November 2, 2021, to elect the next attorney general of Virginia. Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring attempted to win a third term. Herring initially planned to run for governor, but ...

. On June 8, 2021, Jones lost the Democratic primary to incumbent

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jay Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia African-American state legislators in Virginia Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Candidates in the 2021 United States elections College of William & Mary alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 1989 births Living people 21st-century American politicians