RICHMOND — A Democratic state delegate surprised colleagues Thursday by announcing he will step down by the end of the year, leaving his seat in the closely divided House vacant for at least part of the General Assembly session that begins Jan. 12.

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       Del. Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones (D-Norfolk), who won his father’s old seat in the General Assembly in 2017 and ran unsuccessfully this year for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, said he is stepping down to have more family time. He and his wife are expecting their first child this summer.

       “I’m 32, a practicing attorney, and have given everything that I have in my soul to serving Norfolk and the Commonwealth since 2017,” he said in a statement. “But my new job-to-be is as a father, and I’m ready to make that the highest priority in my life.”

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       He added that he intended to remain involved in Virginia politics. “And that work may well mean a run for Attorney General in 2025,” Jones said.

       Jones is leaving as his party’s sway in Richmond is about to fade. After a two-year stretch in which Democrats controlled the House, state Senate and Executive Mansion, Republicans came roaring back in November elections on a ticket led by Glenn Youngkin. The GOP won a 52-to-48 majority in the House that will grow to 52 to 47 while Jones’s seat remains unfilled.

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       A date for a special election was not immediately set. Because the General Assembly is technically still in special session — a posture that allows the legislature to continue to take up judicial appointments — the task of calling the special election falls to the speaker of the House, according to Sigalle Reshef, spokeswoman for House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax).

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       Filler-Corn will remain speaker until the next regular legislative session begins on Jan. 12 and Republicans assume their new majority.

       In the meantime, Filler-Corn is waiting on an official letter from Jones confirming that he is stepping down, Reshef said. “Once we receive that, it’s just going to be about working with the Department of Elections to set a date for the special election,” she said.

       She had no details yet on whether the election would take place in Jones’s existing district or under new political maps being drawn by the Virginia Supreme Court.

       Timing for when a new delegate could be seated is also unclear. “We want to ensure the people of his district are represented for as much of the session as they can be,” Reshef said.