GOP’s Jason Miyares becomes first Latino Attorney General of Virginia

The state of Virginia got its first-ever Latino Attorney General on Wednesday as Jason Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee and a member of the Republican party, won a close electoral race.

Miyares beat his opponent Mark Herring, an incumbent to the Attorney General’s office and a member of the Democratic party, denying him a third term.

Miyares, who is 45 years old, had reportedly based his 2021 campaign on his Hispanic origin, which is linked to her mother, who exited Cuba in 1965.

Also Read: NJ Governor Phil Murphy wins gubernatorial poll, retains office: Report

The newly elected Attorney General congratulated his mother in a victory statement. He said, “Mom, you did well.” She arrived from Cuba 56 years ago “with nothing but a dream, a dream for a better life for her family,” he said while describing his mother’s contribution. 

“Now I stand here today — elected to be the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Miyares said, referring to himself as the “first-ever son of an immigrant and the first Latino elected statewide in the Commonwealth’s history”, according to reports from NBC News.

Also Read: Trump calls Virginia elections for GOP’s Glenn Youngkin, thanks MAGA voters

Miyares had made history as the first Cuban American elected to Virginia’s General Assembly, in 2015. He represented the 82nd District in the House, which is about 83% white, 10.3 percent Black, 3.3% Asian and 5.3% Hispanic.

The 45-year-old frequently criticized his Democratic opponent Herring for decisions by the state parole board to release inmates early without notifying victims, decisions the Democrat said were totally outside his jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, Republican nominee Winsome Sears also made history in the recent polls. The former United States Marine became the first female lieutenant governor and the first woman of colour to win statewide office in Virginia. Sears has made a comeback into the politics of Virginia after an absence of nearly two decades.