On Jan. 15, 2022, the first Hispanic to hold statewide office in Virginia will take his oath of office.
Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares has an ambitious agenda that includes investigating Loudoun County schools and re-asserting parents’ rights in Virginia.
He told CBN News that parents helped to make the difference in Virginia, where Miyares was part of a GOP sweep that included Republican Glenn Youngkin beating Democrat Terry McAuliffe for governor and Winsome Sears defeating Haya Ayala for the lieutenant governor’s office.
“This election in Virginia was a lot of parents pushing back on a far-left liberal monopoly, saying ‘Hey, enough is enough. We need some kind of check and balance,'” he told CBN News.
Miyares says education and parents’ rights will be among his top priorities in his early days in office.
“In the Virginia constitution, there is a right to an education,” he said. “And the first step to that is if I’m a parent and I drop my child off at school I want to know that above all else they’re going to be safe.”
Part of that focus on safety involves a high-profile investigation into Loudoun County schools where two alleged sexual assaults, by the same offender, took place earlier this year on two high school campuses. School authorities initially denied any knowledge of the reports.
“The school board publicly said there’s been no cases of assault that happened in the schools. Now it turns out…they absolutely were aware of it,” he said.
READ Email Shows Loudoun County Superintendent Knew About Sexual Assault on Day It Happened
Miyares also wants to make sure that parents know their rights, per the Virginia code and constitution. He plans to spell them out on his website.
And despite the controversy over raucous school board meetings, he’s outspoken about parents’ rights to speak out.
“Parents have every right, as long as they’re not breaking any law, not making any physical threats of violence,” he said. “You have every right to voice your displeasure to your elected officials.”
His leadership could thrust him into the national spotlight on the rapidly developing political issue.
In September, the National School Board Association (NSBA) created a firestorm by comparing vocal parents to domestic terrorists in a letter to the Biden administration.
Since then, the FBI has begun to track threats against school officials and board members.
In October, the NSBA apologized for the letter, saying it deeply values the voices of parents.
But since then, the association has faced the wrath of many state affiliates. Axios reports that 17 state affiliates have cut ties with the association and may even organize a competitor.
Miyares may also emerge as a power player who brings new voters into the GOP. He envisions a diverse, working-class party that attracts immigrant families like his.
In 1965, Miyares’ mother fled Cuba for the United States. She eventually brought the family to Virginia Beach where Miyares still lives. He says many Latinos desire what his family wanted.
“They view the Republican Party as a party of opportunity, entrepreneurship, individual freedom, individual dignity and they’re attracted to it. I’ve always believed in practicing the politics of addition not subtraction,” he said.
This immigrant outlook, combined with his faith, informs his perspective and politics.
“Romans chapter 12 is the great guidebook for servant leadership,” he said. “It impacts so much of my worldview which is the individual dignity of the person, which is we’re all created imago dei, in the image of God.”
Despite troubled times, Miyares is holding to a high view of the country, one that gives second chances to people from all backgrounds. It’s what he calls the American miracle.
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