2018 New York Attorney General election

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.

2018 New York Attorney General election

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Nominee Letitia James Keith Wofford
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance
Parties
Popular vote 3,739,239 2,108,600
Percentage 62.4% 35.2%

James:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Wofford:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

Attorney General before election

Barbara Underwood
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Letitia James
Democratic

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

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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 confirmed that she would 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

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Candidates

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Filed

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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

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Declined

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Endorsements

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Letitia James
Organizations
Local and state politicians
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
Sean Patrick Maloney
U.S. Representatives
Organizations
Zephyr Teachout
Organizations
Individuals
Local and state politicians
Media
U.S. Representatives
U.S. Senators
U.S. Cabinet members

Polling

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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

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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

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Candidates

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Nominee

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Withdrew

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  • Manny Alicandro, corporate attorney from Manhattan[44] (ended Attorney General campaign in May 2018 to run for Comptroller)[42]
  • Joe Holland, former Commissioner of the New York Department of Housing and Community Renewal (defeated for Republican nomination; endorsed Republican nominee Keith Wofford)[42]

Declined

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Endorsements

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Keith Wofford

Qualified third parties

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Conservative

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Conservative Party of New York State chairman Michael R. Long indicated the party would cross-endorse the Republican nominee for attorney general.[41]

Working Families

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Nominee: Letitia James.[54] The party endorsed both Letitia James and Zephyr Teachout prior to the September 13 primary election.[55] Kenneth Schaefer, who was nominated as the Working Families Party's dummy candidate,[56] withdrew by October 9 in favor of Democratic nominee Letitia James.[57]

Independence Party

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Nominee: Letitia James.[57] Victor J. Messina Jr., the original nominee,[58][59] withdrew by October 9 as well.[57]

Green Party

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Nominee: Michael Sussman

Reform

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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)[60]
  • Michael Diederich Jr.
  • Christopher B. Garvey, Libertarian Party nominee and perennial candidate
  • Nancy Regula, animal rights activist and wife of party chairman Curtis Sliwa[61]

Results

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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

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Libertarian

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  • Christopher B. Garvey [62]

General election

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Polling

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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%[63] 14%

Results

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Letitia James (D) went on to easily win the election, with 62% of the vote versus Wofford's (R) 35%.[64] James became the first woman and the first African-American to be elected New York Attorney General.[65]

New York Attorney General election, 2018[66]
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

By congressional district

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James won 23 of 27 congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans, with the remaining 4 going to Wofford, including one that elected a Democrat.[67]

District James Wofford Representative
1st 49.1% 49.0% Lee Zeldin
2nd 50% 48% Peter T. King
3rd 56% 42% Thomas Suozzi
4th 57% 41% Kathleen Rice
5th 89% 10% Gregory Meeks
6th 69% 28% Grace Meng
7th 89% 8% Nydia Velázquez
8th 89% 10% Hakeem Jeffries
9th 88% 10% Yvette Clarke
10th 81% 17% Jerry Nadler
11th 52% 46% Max Rose
12th 83% 14% Carolyn Maloney
13th 94% 5% Adriano Espaillat
14th 82% 16% Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
15th 95% 4% Jose E. Serrano
16th 77% 21% Eliot Engel
17th 63% 34% Nita Lowey
18th 52% 45% Sean Patrick Maloney
19th 49% 47% Antonio Delgado
20th 56% 41% Paul Tonko
21st 43% 54% Elise Stefanik
22nd 44% 53% Anthony Brindisi
23rd 42% 54% Tom Reed
24th 51% 46% John Katko
25th 56% 41% Joe Morelle
26th 58% 39% Brian Higgins
27th 36% 61% Chris Collins

References

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  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. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  3. ^ "Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general, quits amid assault reports". BBC News. May 8, 2018.
  4. ^ Feuer, Alan (November 8, 2018). "Schneiderman Will Not Face Criminal Charges in Abuse Complaints". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Lawmakers Select Underwood as Interim Attorney General".
  6. ^ 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. ^ "Reports". Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Gormley, Michael; Ferrette, Candice (May 9, 2018). "8 possible candidates to replace Schneiderman as attorney general". Newsday.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
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  12. ^ New York Times. "Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney to Enter N.Y. Attorney General Race". Retrieved June 6, 2018.
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  18. ^ Lovett, Kenneth. "Columbia Law professor who coined 'net neutrality' term mulling run for attorney general – NY Daily News". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
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  21. ^ a b Reisman, Nick (September 6, 2018). "O'Rourke And Kennedy Endorse Maloney". NY State of Politics. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  22. ^ McKenna, Chris (July 27, 2018). "LGBT Victory Fund endorses Maloney in AG Dem primary". blogs.hudsonvalley.com.
  23. ^ "CARPENTERS UNION ENDORSES MALONEY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL". Sean Patrick Maloney for New York.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ a b "Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General of New York". The Nation. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  25. ^ "Our Candidates/New York/Zephyr Teachout". Our Revolution. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  26. ^ @KEEVHA_DE (September 10, 2018). "@ZephyrTeachout @JumaaneWilliams Sending some canvassers up to help get out the vote!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Wang, Vivian (September 4, 2018). "Chirlane McCray Endorses Zephyr Teachout in N.Y. Attorney General Race". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  28. ^ Paiella, Gabriella (August 8, 2018). "Exclusive: Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout to Announce Dual Endorsement". yahoo.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  29. ^ Lovett, Kenneth; Elizalde, Elizabeth (July 12, 2018). "Teachout gets backing for AG race from Ocasio-Cortez". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  30. ^ "Robert Jackson Endorses Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Black Star News.
  31. ^ "Upstate Politics: Myrick endorses Teachout, Akshar announces recovery funding". Ithaca Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  32. ^ "Assemblyman Steck endorses Teachout for AG". The Daily Gazette. July 23, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  33. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Ritchie Torres 'co-endorses' Zephyr Teachout after first backing Letitia James". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  34. ^ "Editorial: Teachout for attorney general". The Buffalo News. September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  35. ^ "Zephyr Teachout for attorney general: A standout in the Democratic field". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  36. ^ "Zephyr Teachout Is the Right Choice as Attorney General for Democrats". The New York Times. August 19, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  37. ^ "Jayapal Endorses Teachout For AG". NY State of Politics. August 10, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  38. ^ "Progressives Cheer NYT Editorial Board Endorsement of Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Common Dreams. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  39. ^ "Bernie Sanders endorses Zephyr Teachout, stays out of NY governor race". Democrat and Chronicle. August 20, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  40. ^ "Reich Endorses Teachout". State of Politics. September 6, 2018. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  41. ^ 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.
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ Gayou, Gerrard (October 27, 2017). "A Republican Tries to Beat the Odds in New York". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  44. ^ a b c Whalen, Ryan (May 10, 2018). "GOP Looks for New AG Candidates". State of Politics. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  45. ^ "Congressman Katko not running for A.G., wants to focus on CNY". cnycentral.com. April 25, 2017.
  46. ^ @petekingcpg (October 10, 2018). ".@Wofford4AG is an outstanding Republican candidate for New York State Attorney General. Hempstead Town Councilwoma…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  47. ^ @noahmanskar (November 1, 2018). "The @Wofford4AG campaign is trolling @NassauExecutive Laura Curran, a Dem, with an endorsement from GOP Assemb. Bri…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  48. ^ @ABCEmpireState (October 29, 2018). "We're proud to endorse @Wofford4AG for Attorney General #ABCMeritShopProud" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  49. ^ "Editorial: Wofford for attorney general". The Buffalo News. October 28, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  50. ^ "Our view: New Yorkers can trust DiNapoli, Wofford, Gillibrand". The Citizen. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  51. ^ "Gazette Endorsement: Wofford will be a force as AG". The Daily Gazette. October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  52. ^ "A Voter Guide to the Midterm Elections – Endorsements from the Jewish Voice". Jewish Voice. October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  53. ^ "Other statewide races: DiNapoli for comptroller and Wofford for attorney general". Watertown Daily Times. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  54. ^ "New York Working Families Party 2018 Endorsements". Working Families Party. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018.
  55. ^ "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.
  56. ^ "WFP nominates placeholder for AG, blames Cuomo for James snub". Politico. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  57. ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  58. ^ "Independence Party picks Vincent Messina for attorney general". Newsday. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  59. ^ "Long Island attorney gets Independence nod for AG". May 17, 2018.
  60. ^ "Bharara says he won't seek state AG job".
  61. ^ "NY Bd of Elections May 26, 2018". Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  62. ^ 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.
  63. ^ "Won't vote with 1%"
  64. ^ "NYS Board of Elections Unofficial Election Night Results". Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  65. ^ "NYS Attorney General Letitia James Delivers Historic Inaugural Speech". January 2019.
  66. ^ "New York Attorney General election" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  67. ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
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Official campaign websites