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.
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 primaryedit
Candidatesedit
Filededit
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]
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]
Declinededit
John P. Cahill, Republican nominee for attorney general in 2014 and former aide to Governor George Pataki[44]
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 Partyedit
Nominee: Letitia James.[57] Victor J. Messina, Jr., the original nominee,[58][59] withdrew by October 9 as well.[57]
Green Partyedit
Nominee: Michael Sussman
Reformedit
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:
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]
^Mayer, Jane; Farrow, Ronan (May 7, 2018). "Four Women Accuse New York's Attorney General of Physical Abuse". New Yorker.
^"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.
^"Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general, quits amid assault reports". BBC News. May 8, 2018.
^Feuer, Alan (November 8, 2018). "Schneiderman Will Not Face Criminal Charges in Abuse Complaints". The New York Times.
^"Lawmakers Select Underwood as Interim Attorney General".
^ abLovett, Kenneth; Blain, Glenn (May 22, 2018). "Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood to remain in office until year's end". New York Daily News.
^Larson, Erik (November 8, 2018). "Underwood to Become New York Solicitor General After James' Election". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
^"Reports". Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ abcGormley, 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.
^"New York City Breaking News, Today's News | WCBS NewsRadio 880". www.audacy.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^Campbell, Jon (May 9, 2018). "Here's who could replace Attorney General Eric Schneiderman". DemocratandChronicle.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
^New York Times. "Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney to Enter N.Y. Attorney General Race". Retrieved June 6, 2018.
^Teachout, Zephyr [@ZephyrTeachout] (May 8, 2018). "I am seriously considering running for Attorney General" (Tweet). Retrieved May 8, 2018 – via Twitter.
^"Zephyr Teachout takes step to run for NY attorney general; Rep. Maloney drops bid for appointment". February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
^"Zephyr Teachout Is Running for Attorney General of New York". May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
^"Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General". Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2017. Official campaign site of the incumbent Democratic candidate in 2018 for New York's Attorney General.
^Garcia, Eric (May 15, 2018). "Kathleen Rice Passes on Running for New York Attorney General". Retrieved May 22, 2018 – via www.rollcall.com.
^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.
^ abGrim, Ryan (August 7, 2018). "EMILY's List Backs Letitia James, Andrew Cuomo's Candidate for New York Attorney General". The Intercept. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
^ abReisman, 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.
^McKenna, Chris (July 27, 2018). "LGBT Victory Fund endorses Maloney in AG Dem primary". blogs.hudsonvalley.com.
^"CARPENTERS UNION ENDORSES MALONEY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL". Sean Patrick Maloney for New York.[permanent dead link]
^ ab"Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General of New York". The Nation. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
^"Our Candidates/New York/Zephyr Teachout". Our Revolution. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
^@KEEVHA_DE (September 10, 2018). "@ZephyrTeachout @JumaaneWilliams Sending some canvassers up to help get out the vote!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Wang, Vivian (September 4, 2018). "Chirlane McCray Endorses Zephyr Teachout in N.Y. Attorney General Race". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^Paiella, Gabriella (August 8, 2018). "Exclusive: Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout to Announce Dual Endorsement". yahoo.com. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
^Lovett, Kenneth; Elizalde, Elizabeth (July 12, 2018). "Teachout gets backing for AG race from Ocasio-Cortez". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
^"Robert Jackson Endorses Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Black Star News.
^"Assemblyman Steck endorses Teachout for AG". The Daily Gazette. July 23, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^"EXCLUSIVE: Ritchie Torres 'co-endorses' Zephyr Teachout after first backing Letitia James". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^"Editorial: Teachout for attorney general". The Buffalo News. September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
^"Zephyr Teachout for attorney general: A standout in the Democratic field". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
^"Zephyr Teachout Is the Right Choice as Attorney General for Democrats". The New York Times. August 19, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
^"Jayapal Endorses Teachout For AG". NY State of Politics. August 10, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
^"Progressives Cheer NYT Editorial Board Endorsement of Zephyr Teachout for Attorney General". Common Dreams. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
^"Bernie Sanders endorses Zephyr Teachout, stays out of NY governor race". Democrat and Chronicle. August 20, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
^"Reich Endorses Teachout". State of Politics. September 6, 2018. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
^ abLovett, 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.
^ abcPrecious, Tom (May 24, 2018). "GOP delegates choose Buffalo native Keith Wofford as state attorney general candidate". Buffalo News. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^Gayou, Gerrard (October 27, 2017). "A Republican Tries to Beat the Odds in New York". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
^ abcWhalen, 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.
^"Congressman Katko not running for A.G., wants to focus on CNY". cnycentral.com. April 25, 2017.
^@petekingcpg (October 10, 2018). ".@Wofford4AG is an outstanding Republican candidate for New York State Attorney General. Hempstead Town Councilwoma…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^@noahmanskar (November 1, 2018). "The @Wofford4AG campaign is trolling @NassauExecutive Laura Curran, a Dem, with an endorsement from GOP Assemb. Bri…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^@ABCEmpireState (October 29, 2018). "We're proud to endorse @Wofford4AG for Attorney General #ABCMeritShopProud" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"Editorial: Wofford for attorney general". The Buffalo News. October 28, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^"Our view: New Yorkers can trust DiNapoli, Wofford, Gillibrand". The Citizen. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^"Gazette Endorsement: Wofford will be a force as AG". The Daily Gazette. October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^"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.
^"Other statewide races: DiNapoli for comptroller and Wofford for attorney general". Watertown Daily Times. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
^"New York Working Families Party 2018 Endorsements". Working Families Party. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018.
^"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.
^"WFP nominates placeholder for AG, blames Cuomo for James snub". Politico. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
^ abc"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)
^"Independence Party picks Vincent Messina for attorney general". Newsday. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
^"Long Island attorney gets Independence nod for AG". May 17, 2018.
^"NY Bd of Elections May 26, 2018". Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
^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.