CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – As he fights to retain his position as the Commonwealth’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares touted his record of lowering crime rates while indicating his opponent, Democrat Jay Jones, is unfit for the position.

“My No. 1 mission has been your family’s safety and Virginia’s safety,” Miyares said Wednesday during an appearance on the WINA Morning News. “When I came into office, our murder rate was at its one year high. Our violent crime rate was at a 30-year high. And we had the highest level of addiction deaths ever recorded in Virginia.”

Miyares said he helped to lower those rates by working with law enforcement, filling vacancies and raising morale in police departments, and prosecuting repeat violent offenders, especially those involved in drug sales.

He touted the success of “Operation Ceasefire,” which focused on lowering violent crime rates in Virginia’s 13 most violent localities.

“We’ve seen a remarkable turnaround,” Miyares said. “We’ve seen a remarkable drop in violent crime.”

Miyares noted that he and Gov. Glenn Youngkin were recognized by the national Drug Enforcement Agency earlier this year because Virginia had the highest drop in addiction-related deaths in the country.

“That didn’t happen by accident,” he said.

The most recent polls show Miyares trailing his Democratic challenger. According to Christopher Newport University’s Wasson Center, Jones holds a 48-41% edge on Miyares.

“My opponent is asking you to hire him to be the top prosecutor, but he’s never prosecuted a case a day in his life,” Miyares said of Jones, who focused on consumer protection during his year as an assistant attorney general in Washington D.C.

Miyares said Jones voting record in the state assembly shows far left policies that embolden criminals.

While Miyares’ campaign has labeled Jones “soft” on crime, Jones has painted Miyares as someone who won’t protect Virginia for a federal government that is increasingly reaching into state affairs. Jones pointed to the Trump administration’s pressuring of former UVA president Jim Ryan to resign, the impact of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill on Virginian jobs and healthcare, and the recent ouster of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Erik Siebert.

“Jason continues to let Donald Trump run roughshod over Virginia,” Jones told Cville Right Now. “Jason’s too weak and too scared to stand up to the president and do his job.”

Asked about Jones’ comments Wednesday, Miyares said it’s a non-issue in the attorney general’s race.

“The attacks on me indicate he doesn’t even know the job he’s running for,” Miyares said. “He should be running for US Senate. If he wants to pick fights with politicians in Washington, that should be the job he’s looking for.”

But Miyares also indicated a break from Trump in terms of political rhetoric.

Two days after Trump told gatherers at an Arizona memorial for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, “I hate my opponents. And I don’t want what’s best for them,” Miyares said that type of discourse is damaging to the country.

Miyares spoke at an event at the University of Virginia on Tuesday that he said, “really emphasized the need for civility, even in the political season. I think that too many people in America right now are looking at fellow Americans not as fellow Americans but as enemies. I think that’s a dark path to go down.”