HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor is running for the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General in 2025, her campaign announced Wednesday.
Taylor has served as Henrico County's top prosecutor since 2012. She is the first candidate to throw her hat into the ring this upcoming election cycle for Virginia attorney general, an office currently held by Republican Jason Miyares.
In a news release sent to 13News Now, Taylor's campaign touted her work in protecting abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and her prosecution of a Ku Klux Klan leader who drove into a protest in 2020.
Her campaign also criticized Miyares' opposition to the Biden administration's new Title IX rules as "bigoted action against LGBTQ+ Virginians," as well as the attorney general's push to change DEI standards for law schools.
RELATED: Virginia Legislative Black Caucus condemns AG Miyares' push to modify DEI standards for law schools
“To defeat extremism and hate, we need an experienced, proven prosecutor as our Democratic nominee for Attorney General," Taylor wrote in a news release. "I am the only candidate who has flipped a seat from Red to Blue in what was a Republican-leaning locality and the only candidate with a proven record of successfully prosecuting many hundreds of cases.”
Taylor's announcement comes a year and a half before the November 2025 election as she joins a group of Democrats who entered next year's races early.
U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is the sole Democratic candidate currently running for Virginia governor, while a handful of candidates are vying for lieutenant governor: State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, Prince William County School Board Chairman Babur Lateef, State Sen. Aaron Rouse, and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
While no one else has joined the attorney general race, several high-profile Democrats are encouraging former delegate and 2021 attorney general candidate Jay Jones to enter the race. No Republicans have announced their candidacies for any statewide offices yet.
