Virginia Democrats are bracing for the possibility of split-ticket results in the governor and attorney general races, which could pose a significant impact on policy and issues like redistricting.

While former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) continues to hold a lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), the attorney general’s race is increasingly looking like a wild card. Polls released in the weeks following news of unearthed violent texts sent by Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones in 2022 have shown an increasingly tight race between him and incumbent state Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), with some more recent polling showing Miyares leading.

A scenario in which Spanberger wins the governor’s mansion and Miyares retains his position would create a headache for Democrats in Richmond, who have voiced a desire to push back on Republicans and the Trump administration by any means possible.

“I think it’s very possible,” said veteran Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth, when asked how likely a split ticket is in November. “I don’t know whether Jones has staunched the bleeding.”

“Clearly the issues would be harmful to him in the Richmond suburbs and in the Hampton Roads suburbs, but from what I'm hearing even internally, even inside the Beltway up in [Northern Virginia], they’re very problematic.”

The state’s attorney general race was viewed as one of the more competitive statewide races prior to Jones’s texting scandal, with Miyares holding a fundraising lead and Jones holding only a narrow lead in the polls. But the scandal has ratcheted........

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