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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.
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 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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]
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]
| 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% |
Turnout: 28.08%
| 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% | ||
Conservative Party of New York State chairman Michael R. Long indicated the party would cross-endorse the Republican nominee for attorney general.[41]
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]
Nominee: Letitia James.[57] Victor J. Messina Jr., the original nominee,[58][59] withdrew by October 9 as well.[57]
Nominee: Michael Sussman
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:
| 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% |
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]
| 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 | |||||
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 |
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