Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Taylor is running for Attorney General of Virginia

Henrico District Attorney Shannon Taylor announced Wednesday that she will seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for Virginia Attorney General in next June’s primary election.

Taylor, who has served in Henrico since 2012, had considered launching a campaign for state office in 2020, but ultimately decided to stay in the county after incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring (Democrats, two-term attorney general) somewhat surprisingly decided not to run for governor and instead seek a third term. Herring lost that attempt to current Attorney General Jason Miyares (Republican).

Miyares’ plans are unknown; rumors suggest he is considering a possible run for governor, but he may instead opt to seek re-election in his current office. Virginia voters will vote for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general in the November 2025 general election.

In a statement announcing her intentions, Taylor — long considered the de facto leader of the Henrico Democratic Party — reiterated her efforts to advance racial justice, strengthen hate crime laws and toughen penalties for stalkers, among other things. Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling (which legalized abortion nationwide) in 2022, Taylor announced that she would not prosecute women or medical personnel for providing abortion services.

In 2021, she successfully prosecuted the self-proclaimed leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Virginia after he attempted to run over pedestrians in Lakeside with his vehicle.

More recently, Taylor has criticized Miyares’ efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Virginia’s law schools.

“When MAGA extremists push through laws that punish women for making private decisions about their health care, women must fight back,” she said in a statement. “And when our extremist attorney general tries to strip our friends and neighbors of their rights, we must stand strong. I’ve been ready from day one to take on these fights and win.”

Taylor’s election in 2011 came as a surprise, especially for a position that had a stranglehold on the Republican Party and men. She was the first woman ever to hold the title of Henrico’s district attorney, and one of the few Democrats to do so. (The position served as a springboard for the political career of former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore.)