2018 New York Attorney General election

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For related races, see 2018 United States attorney general elections.
2018 New York Attorney General election
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  Letitia James Interview Feb 2020.png Keith Wofford (cropped).jpg
Nominee Letitia James Keith Wofford
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance
Parties
Parties
Popular vote 3,739,239 2,108,600
Percentage 62.4% 35.2%
NY Attorney General election, 2018.svg
County results
James:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
     70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Wofford:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Attorney General before election

Barbara Underwood
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Letitia James
Democratic

Elections in New York State
Seal of the State of New York
Federal government
State government
New York City
Albany
Buffalo
Rochester
Syracuse
  • v
  • t

The 2018 New York Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, a Democrat, was elected. James is the first woman and the first African-American to be elected New York Attorney General.

Former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on May 8, 2018 after allegations of domestic abuse and withdrew from his then-ongoing reelection campaign. Incumbent Solicitor General Barbara Underwood was chosen by the Legislature to complete her unexpired term, but opted not to seek election to a full term.

On September 13, 2018, James won the Democratic nomination for Attorney General, defeating Leecia Eve, former senior policy advisor to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton; Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. Representative for New York's 18th congressional district; and Zephyr Teachout, professor at Fordham University School of Law. In the general election, James defeated Republican Party candidate Keith Wofford with over 60% of the vote.

In the general election, James carried every county won by Andrew Cuomo in the concurrent gubernatorial election as well as Franklin, Clinton, Essex, Orange, Duchess, Columbia, Broome, Cortland and Schenectady counties.

Background[]

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, was first elected to the office of Attorney General in 2010, winning reelection in 2014. He was in the midst of campaigning for a third term in office when on May 7, 2018, The New Yorker revealed allegations that he had physically abused several women he had dated during his tenure in office.[1] Schneiderman resigned hours after the story was released, with the resignation taking effect at the end of the business day May 8; he did not seek re-election.[2][3][4]

Barbara Underwood, the Solicitor General, took on the duties of Attorney General upon Schneiderman's resignation. A joint session of the New York State Legislature formally appointed Underwood to fill the rest of Schneiderman's term on May 22, after interviewing several potential candidates; of the 209 members in the State Legislature, 190 votes were cast in favor, with one (Charles Barron) voting against her in protest of the process, and 18 abstaining.[5] Underwood has confirmed that she will not run for the office in the 2018 elections[6] and returned to her previous position as Solicitor General following the election.[7]

Democratic primary[]

Candidates[]

Filed[]

The following candidates were certified by the State Board of Elections as having filed for the primary ballot (James by state convention nomination and the others by submitting sufficient signatures):[8]

Withdrew[]

  • Eric Schneiderman, former Attorney General[17]

Declined[]

  • Daniel Garodnick, former member of the New York City Council
  • Michael Gianaris, New York State Senator[9]
  • Kathleen Rice, U.S. Representative from New York's 4th congressional district[18]
  • Barbara Underwood, interim Attorney General[6]
  • Tim Wu, special enforcement counsel to the attorney general and 2014 lieutenant governor primary candidate[19]
  • Charles D. Lavine, Member of the New York State Assembly

Endorsements[]

hide
Letitia James
Organizations
  • 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East[20]
  • Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan[20]
  • Communications Workers of America District 1[20]
  • Communications Workers of America Local 1180[20]
  • District Council 37[20]
  • EMILY's List[21]
  • Transport Workers Union of America Local 100[20]
  • Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union[20]
  • Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats[20]
  • International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers[20]
  • Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club[20]
  • SEIU 32BJ[20]
  • Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn[20]
  • Laborers' International Union of North America[20]
Local and state politicians
  • Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Justin Brannan, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Byron Brown, Mayor of Buffalo[20]
  • Robert Cornegy, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Marcos Crespo, Member of the New York State Assembly[20]
  • Laurie Cumbo, Majority Leader of New York City Council[20]
  • Andrew Cuomo, 56th Governor of New York[21]
  • Chaim Deutsch, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Rubén Díaz Jr., Borough President of the Bronx[20]
  • Michael Gianaris, Member of the New York Senate[20]
  • Carl Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly[20]
  • Earlene Hill Hooper, Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly[20]
  • Corey Johnson, Speaker of the New York City Council[20]
  • Todd Kaminsky, Member of the New York Senate[20]
  • , Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Mark D. Levine, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Joseph D. Morelle, Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly[20]
  • Crystal Peoples, Member of the New York State Assembly[20]
  • Gustavo Rivera, Member of the New York Senate[20]
  • Rafael Salamanca, Member of New York City Council[20]
  • Luis R. Sepúlveda, Member of the New York Senate[20]
  • José M. Serrano, Member of the New York Senate[20]
  • Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany[20]
  • Ritchie Torres, Member of New York City Council[20]
U.S. Senators
  • Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator from California (2017-2021)
U.S. Representatives
  • Gregory Meeks, U.S. Representative, NY-5[20]
  • Adriano Espaillat, U.S. Representative, NY-13[20]
  • Joseph Crowley, U.S. Representative, NY-14[20]
hide
Sean Patrick Maloney
U.S. Representatives
Organizations
  • New England Regional Council of Carpenters[23]
  • LGBTQ Victory Fund[24]
hide
Zephyr Teachout
Organizations
  • Indivisible Brooklyn[20]
  • Indivisible Harlem
  • Indivisible Upper West Side
  • New York Communities for Change[25]
  • Our Revolution[26]
  • Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America
  • People for Bernie[20]
Individuals
  • Chirlane McCray, First Lady of New York City [27]
  • Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning Columbia University professor
  • Roberta A. Kaplan, Lawyer and LGBT activist[20]
  • Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School professor[20]
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative from NY-14 in 2018[28]
  • Cynthia Nixon, 2018 candidate for Governor of New York, actress, and activist[29]
  • Kerri Evelyn Harris, 2018 candidate for U.S. Senator in Delaware[30]
Local and state politicians
  • Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca[31]
  • Liz Krueger, Member of the New York Senate
  • Tom Abinanti, Member of the New York State Assembly
  • Terry Gipson, Former Member of the New York Senate
  • Jumaane Williams, Member of the New York City Council
  • Jimmy Van Bramer, Member of the New York City Council
  • Robert Jackson, Former Member of the New York City Council[32]
  • Ritchie Torres, Member of New York City Council[33]
  • , Member of the New York State Assembly[34]
Media
  • The New York Times[35]
  • New York Daily News[36]
  • The Nation[25]
  • The Buffalo News[37]
U.S. Representatives
  • John Sarbanes, U.S. Representative, MD-3
  • Pramila Jayapal, U.S. Representative, WA-7, Former Member of the Washington State Senate from the 37th District[38]
  • Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative, CA-17[39]
U.S. Senators
  • Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator, Vermont[40]
U.S. Cabinet

Polling[]

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Leecia
Eve 		Letitia
James 		Sean Patrick
Maloney 		Zephyr
Teachout 		Other Undecided
Change Research (D) September 11–12, 2018 844 ± 3.5% 3% 27% 26% 28% – 16%
Siena College September 4–7, 2018 509 ± 4.3% 3% 24% 25% 18% 1% 30%
Siena College July 22–26, 2018 630 ± 3.9% 4% 25% 16% 13% – 42%
Quinnipiac University July 12–16, 2018 415 ± 6.2% 3% 26% 15% 12% – 44%

Results[]

Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Letitia James 608,308 38.53%
Democratic Zephyr Teachout 468,083 29.65%
Democratic Sean Patrick Maloney 379,099 24.02%
Democratic Leecia Eve 52,367 3.32%
Total votes 1,578,588 100.0%

Republican primary[]

Candidates[]

Nominee[]

  • Keith Wofford, co-managing partner of Ropes & Gray's New York City office[42] (designated party nominee)[43]

Wofford grew up in Buffalo, New York and attended Harvard College on scholarship.[44]

Withdrew[]

  • Manny Alicandro, corporate attorney from Manhattan[45] (ended Attorney General campaign in May 2018 to run for Comptroller)[43]
  • Joe Holland, former Commissioner of the New York Department of Housing and Community Renewal (defeated for Republican nomination; endorsed Republican nominee Keith Wofford)[43]

Declined[]

  • John P. Cahill, Republican nominee for Attorney General in 2014 and former aide to Governor George Pataki[45]
  • John Katko, U.S. Representative[46]
  • John DeFrancisco, Deputy Majority Leader of the New York State Senate[45]

Endorsements[]

hide
Keith Wofford
U.S. Representatives
  • Peter T. King, U.S. Representative, NY-02[47]
Local and state politicians
  • Brian F. Curran, Member of the New York State Assembly[48]
Organizations
  • Associated Builders and Contractors[49]
Newspapers

Qualified third parties[]

Conservative[]

Conservative Party of New York State chairman Michael R. Long indicated the party would cross-endorse the Republican nominee for Attorney General.[42]

  • Nominee: Keith Wofford

Working Families[]

Nominee: Letitia James.[56] The party endorsed both Letitia James and Zephyr Teachout prior to the September 13 primary election.[57] , who was nominated as the Working Families Party's dummy candidate,[58] withdrew by October 9 in favor of Democratic nominee Letitia James.[59]

Independence Party[]

Nominee: Letitia James.[59] Victor J. Messina, Jr., the original nominee,[60][61] withdrew by October 9 as well.[59]

Green Party[]

Nominee: Michael Sussman

Reform[]

On May 20, 2018, the Reform Party of New York State authorized four candidates to run for Attorney General in its September 13, 2018 primary:

  • Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney (declined)[62]
  • Michael Diederich, Jr.
  • Christopher B. Garvey, Libertarian Party nominee and perennial candidate
  • Nancy Regula, animal rights activist and wife of party chairman Curtis Sliwa[63]

Results[]

Reform primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Nancy Sliwa 13,643 53.3
Reform Michael Diederich, Jr. 6,005 23.5
Reform Christopher B. Garvey 5,949 23.2
Total votes 25,597 100.0

Other third parties[]

Libertarian[]

  • Christopher B. Garvey [64]

General election[]

Polling[]

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin
of error 		Letitia
James (D) 		Keith
Wofford (R) 		Other Undecided
Siena College October 28 – November 1, 2018 641 ± 3.9% 49% 37% 0% 14%
McLaughlin & Associates (R-Wofford) September 27–30, 2018 600 ± 4.0% 44% 33% 4% 20%
Siena College September 20–27, 2018 701 ± 3.9% 50% 36% 1%[65] 14%

Results[]

Letitia James (D) went on to easily win the election, with 62% of the vote versus Wofford’s (R) 35%.[66] James is the first woman and the first African-American to be elected New York Attorney General.[67]

New York Attorney General election, 2018[68]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Letitia James 3,497,213 58.38% +12.89%
Working Families Letitia James 152,350 2.54% -1.79%
Independence Letitia James 89,676 1.50% -1.33%
Total Letitia James 3,739,239 62.42% +9.77%
Republican Keith Wofford 1,851,510 30.91% -1.68%
Conservative Keith Wofford 257,090 4.29% -2.31%
Total Keith Wofford 2,108,600 35.20% -4.24%
Green Michael Sussman 72,512 1.21% -0.85%
Libertarian Christopher Garvey 43,767 0.73% +0.10%
Reform Nancy Sliwa 26,441 0.44% N/A
Total votes 5,990,559 100.0% N/A
Democratic hold

References[]

  1. ^ Mayer, Jane; Farrow, Ronan (May 7, 2018). "Four Women Accuse New York's Attorney General of Physical Abuse". New Yorker.
  2. ^ "Statement By Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  3. ^ "Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general, quits amid assault reports". BBC News. 8 May 2018.
  4. ^ Feuer, Alan (8 November 2018). "Schneiderman Will Not Face Criminal Charges in Abuse Complaints". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Lawmakers Select Underwood as Interim Attorney General".
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Lovett, Kenneth; Blain, Glenn (May 22, 2018). "Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood to remain in office until year's end". New York Daily News.
  7. ^ Larson, Erik (November 8, 2018). "Underwood to Become New York Solicitor General After James' Election". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  8. ^ http://elections.ny.gov:8080/reports/rwservlet?cmdkey=whofiled
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Gormley, Michael; Ferrette, Candice (May 9, 2018). "8 possible candidates to replace Schneiderman as attorney general". Newsday.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  10. ^ "Letitia James declares intent to run for NY state attorney general". 16 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  11. ^ New York State Democrats Nominate Letitia James for Attorney General
  12. ^ Campbell, Jon (May 9, 2018). "Here's who could replace Attorney General Eric Schneiderman". DemocratandChronicle.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  13. ^ New York Times. "Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney to Enter N.Y. Attorney General Race". Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  14. ^ Teachout, Zephyr [@ZephyrTeachout] (8 May 2018). "I am seriously considering running for Attorney General" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 May 2018 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Zephyr Teachout takes step to run for NY attorney general; Rep. Maloney drops bid for appointment". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Zephyr Teachout Is Running for Attorney General of New York". 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General". Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2017. Official campaign site of the incumbent Democratic candidate in 2018 for New York's Attorney General.
  18. ^ Garcia, Eric (15 May 2018). "Kathleen Rice Passes on Running for New York Attorney General". Retrieved 22 May 2018 – via www.rollcall.com.
  19. ^ Lovett, Kenneth. "Columbia Law professor who coined 'net neutrality' term mulling run for attorney general - NY Daily News". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq Segers, Grace (18 July 2018). "The lopsided endorsements for AG". City & State. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Grim, Ryan (7 August 2018). "EMILY's List Backs Letitia James, Andrew Cuomo's Candidate for New York Attorney General". The Intercept. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Reisman, Nick (September 6, 2018). "O'Rourke And Kennedy Endorse Maloney". NY State of Politics.
  23. ^ "CARPENTERS UNION ENDORSES MALONEY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL". Sean Patrick Maloney for New York.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ McKenna, Chris (July 27, 2018). "LGBT Victory Fund endorses Maloney in AG Dem primary". blogs.hudsonvalley.com.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b "Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General of New York". The Nation. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  26. ^ "Our Candidates/New York/Zephyr Teachout". Our Revolution. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  27. ^ Wang, Vivian (4 September 2018). "Chirlane McCray Endorses Zephyr Teachout in N.Y. Attorney General Race". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  28. ^ Lovett, Kenneth; Elizalde, Elizabeth (July 12, 2018). "Teachout gets backing for AG race from Ocasio-Cortez". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  29. ^ Paiella, Gabriella (8 August 2018). "Exclusive: Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout to Announce Dual Endorsement". yahoo.com. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  30. ^ @KEEVHA_DE (10 September 2018). "@ZephyrTeachout @JumaaneWilliams Sending some canvassers up to help get out the vote!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "Upstate Politics: Myrick endorses Teachout, Akshar announces recovery funding". Ithaca Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  32. ^ "Robert Jackson Endorses Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Black Star News.
  33. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Ritchie Torres 'co-endorses' Zephyr Teachout after first backing Letitia James". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  34. ^ "Assemblyman Steck endorses Teachout for AG". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  35. ^ "Zephyr Teachout Is the Right Choice as Attorney General for Democrats". The New York Times. 19 August 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  36. ^ "Zephyr Teachout for attorney general: A standout in the Democratic field". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  37. ^ "Editorial: Teachout for attorney general". The Buffalo News. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  38. ^ "Jayapal Endorses Teachout For AG". NY State of Politics. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  39. ^ "Progressives Cheer NYT Editorial Board Endorsement of Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Common Dreams. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  40. ^ "Bernie Sanders endorses Zephyr Teachout, stays out of NY governor race". Democrat and Chronicle. August 20, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  41. ^ "Reich Endorses Teachout". State of Politics. September 6, 2018.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Lovett, Kenneth (May 21, 2018). "GOP has yet to nail down picks for AG, controller as convention looms". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b c Precious, Tom (May 24, 2018). "GOP delegates choose Buffalo native Keith Wofford as state attorney general candidate". Buffalo News. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  44. ^ Gayou, Gerrard (27 October 2017). "A Republican Tries to Beat the Odds in New York". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  45. ^ Jump up to: a b c Whalen, Ryan (May 10, 2018). "GOP Looks for New AG Candidates". State of Politics. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  46. ^ "Congressman Katko not running for A.G., wants to focus on CNY". cnycentral.com. April 25, 2017.
  47. ^ @petekingcpg (10 October 2018). ".@Wofford4AG is an outstanding Republican candidate for New York State Attorney General. Hempstead Town Councilwoma…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  48. ^ @noahmanskar (1 November 2018). "The @Wofford4AG campaign is trolling @NassauExecutive Laura Curran, a Dem, with an endorsement from GOP Assemb. Bri…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  49. ^ @ABCEmpireState (29 October 2018). "We're proud to endorse @Wofford4AG for Attorney General #ABCMeritShopProud" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  50. ^ "Editorial: Wofford for attorney general". The Buffalo News. October 28, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  51. ^ "A Voter Guide to the Midterm Elections – Endorsements from the Jewish Voice". Jewish Voice. October 24, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  52. ^ "Our view: New Yorkers can trust DiNapoli, Wofford, Gillibrand". The Citizen. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  53. ^ "Gazette Endorsement: Wofford will be a force as AG". The Daily Gazette. October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  54. ^ "New York should elect Wofford to tackle corruption". New York Post. October 29, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  55. ^ "Other statewide races: DiNapoli for comptroller and Wofford for attorney general". Watertown Daily Times. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  56. ^ "New York Working Families Party 2018 Endorsements". Working Families Party. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018.
  57. ^ "WFP Gives Seal of Approval to Both Tish James and Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Working Families Party. May 19, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018.
  58. ^ "WFP nominates placeholder for AG, blames Cuomo for James snub". Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  59. ^ Jump up to: a b c https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/Elections/2018/General/2018AmendedStateGeneralCertification.pdf
  60. ^ "Independence Party names Messina AG candidate".
  61. ^ "Long Island attorney gets Independence nod for AG". 17 May 2018.
  62. ^ "Bharara says he won't seek state AG job".
  63. ^ NY Bd of Elections May 26, 2018
  64. ^ 2018 Libertarian Candidate for Attorney General, Nominated for AG by the 2018 NY Libertarian Convention [1] Archived 2018-05-26 at the Wayback Machine; 2006 Libertarian candidate for Attorney General of New York (see New York gubernatorial election, 2006); 1998 Libertarian candidate for Governor of New York (see New York gubernatorial elections); Libertarian candidate for District Attorney, Suffolk, 2009, 2013, 2017 [2] Archived 2018-05-26 at the Wayback Machine; 2015 Conservative Candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court 12th Judicial District [3] Bd of Elections 2015, [4] 2003, [5] 2002, [6] 2001, [7] 2000.
  65. ^ "Won't vote with 1%"
  66. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-11-20. Retrieved 2018-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  67. ^ "NYS Attorney General Letitia James Delivers Historic Inaugural Speech". January 2019.
  68. ^ https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2018/general/2018Comptroller.pdf

External links[]

Official campaign websites
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