2014 New York Attorney General election
The 2014 New York Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Attorney General of New York. The incumbent Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman won reelection to a second term in office, defeating Republican John P. Cahill.
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 County results Schneiderman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Cahill: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editIncumbent Democratic attorney general Andrew Cuomo declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead successfully running for Governor. State Senator Eric Schneiderman narrowly won the Democratic primary and then won the general election by a wide margin.
In 2014, all statewide offices in New York were held by Democrats. Republicans believed that their best chance of winning a statewide election in 2014 rested on defeating Schneiderman, citing Governor Cuomo's high approval ratings and large campaign war chest and the belief that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was unlikely to be vulnerable because "Comptrollers seem to get re-elected as long as they do their jobs."[1] Schneiderman has used his designation as Republicans' "top target" to raise money.[2]
Governing did not believe Schneiderman would be defeated in 2014. A March 2013 article listed the 2014 New York attorney general election as "not competitive", citing the high-profile cases Schneiderman had taken on.[3] A December 2013 article rated the race as "Safe Democratic", stating that "Schneiderman should have no problem winning a second term."[4]
Democratic primary
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general[2][5]
Withdrew
editRepublican primary
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- John P. Cahill, attorney and former chief of staff for Governor George Pataki[8]
Declined
edit- Michael A. Battle, former Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and former United States Attorney for the Western District of New York[9]
- Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., District Attorney of Richmond County and nominee for Attorney General in 2010[10]
- Michael J. Garcia, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Randy Mastro, attorney and former chief of staff to Rudy Giuliani[11]
- Marc Mukasey, attorney and stepson of former United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey[11]
- Dennis Vacco, former attorney general[12]
Major third parties
editBesides the Democratic and Republican parties, the Conservative, Green, Independence and Working Families parties all enjoyed automatic ballot access as qualified New York parties in 2014.
Conservative
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- John P. Cahill, Republican nominee
Green
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Ramon Jimenez, attorney from The Bronx[13]
Independence
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
Working Families
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
Minor third parties
editAny political party other than the six qualified New York parties (Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Green, Independence and Working Families) was required to petition their way onto the ballot.
Libertarian
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Carl Person, nominee for Attorney General in 2010, candidate for President of the United States in 2012 and Reform Party nominee for Mayor of New York City in 2013[14]
Stop Common Core
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- John P. Cahill, Republican nominee[7]
Women's Equality
editCandidates
editNominated
edit- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
General election
editPolling
edit| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Eric Schneiderman (D) |
John P. Cahill (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena College[15] | October 16–20, 2014 | 748 | ± 3.6% | 55% | 35% | 0% | 10% |
| Siena College[16] | September 18–23, 2014 | 809 | ± 3.4% | 50% | 34% | — | 15% |
| In The Field[17]◆ | September 8, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 36.8% | 29.7% | — | 33.5% |
| Quinnipiac University[18] | August 14–17, 2014 | 1,034 | ± 3.1% | 51% | 29% | 1% | 19% |
| Siena College[19] | July 13–16, 2014 | 774 | ± 3.5% | 53% | 31% | 0% | 16% |
| Siena College[20] | June 8–12, 2014 | 835 | ± 3.4% | 52% | 27% | 0% | 22% |
| Quinnipiac University[21] | May 14–19, 2014 | 1,129 | ± 2.9% | 46% | 27% | 1% | 25% |
◆ Internally-conducted poll for the John P. Cahill campaign that he was required by state law to publish after parts of the poll were revealed in a fundraising appeal.
Results
edit| Attorney General election in New York, 2014[22] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | Eric T. Schneiderman | 1,790,006 | 45.6% | ||
| Working Families | Eric T. Schneiderman | 169,037 | 4.3% | ||
| Independence/ Women's Equality | Eric T. Schneiderman | 110,913 | 2.8% | ||
| Total | Eric T. Schneiderman (incumbent) | 2,069,956 | 52.7% | ||
| Republican | John P. Cahill | 1,261,641 | 32.1% | ||
| Conservative/ Stop-Common-Core | John P. Cahill | 277,349 | 7.1% | ||
| Total | John P. Cahill | 1,538,990 | 39.2% | ||
| Green | Ramon Jimenez | 80,813 | 2.1% | ||
| Libertarian | Carl E. Person | 24,746 | 0.6% | ||
| Blank | 207,771 | 5.3% | |||
| Void | 1,683 | 0.04% | |||
| Totals | 3,924,990 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic Hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ Kenneth Lovett (November 11, 2013). "State Republican Chairman Ed Cox could tap himself to face Gov. Andrew Cuomo". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b Kenneth Lovett (November 18, 2013). "NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Uses GOP Designation As Top Target To Raise Money". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ "The 2013-2014 Attorneys General Races: Who's Not Vulnerable?". Governing. March 21, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- ^ "What's Ahead for the Attorney General Races in 2014?". Governing. December 19, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- ^ "G.O.P. Sees Chance as Schneiderman Seeks 2nd Term as Attorney General". New York Times. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ Lovett, Kenneth (July 21, 2014). Republican John Cahill looks to block primary—for Democratic opponent. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Candidate Petition List". elections.ny.gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ Kenneth Lovett (May 5, 2014). "John Cahill set to announce challenge to NY AG Eric Schneiderman: sources". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ "Another Republican With Pataki Ties Eyes AG Race". NY State of Politics. December 16, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ Tom Wrobleski (November 8, 2013). "Donovan: No rematch with Schneiderman in 2014 attorney general's race". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ a b Kenneth Lovett (December 16, 2013). "Republican Michael Garcia considering run against AG Eric Schneiderman: source". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ Lovett, Kenneth (March 19, 2014). Former NY Attorney General Dennis Vacco Says He's Been Asked To Consider Another Run. New York Daily News. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Yusko, Dennis (May 18, 2014). In Troy, Hawkins gets Green Party nod. Times Union. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
- ^ Odato, James (April 26, 2014). Libertarians unite behind Suffolk County real estate broker. Times Union (Albany, NY). Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ^ Siena College
- ^ Siena College
- ^ In The Field
- ^ Quinnipiac University
- ^ Siena College
- ^ Siena College
- ^ Quinnipiac University
- ^ "Certified Results of 2014 Attorney General Election" (PDF). Elections.NY.gov. Retrieved January 29, 2022.