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.
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 the 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. 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.
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 voting against her in protest of the process, and 18 abstaining. Underwood confirmed that she would not run for the office in the 2018 elections, and returned to her previous position as solicitor general following the election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Filed

The following candidates were certified by the State Board of Elections as having filed for the primary ballot :

Withdrew

Declined

Results

Turnout: 28.08%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Withdrew

Declined

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.

Working Families

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

Independence Party

Nominee: Letitia James. Victor J. Messina Jr., the original nominee, withdrew by October 9 as well.

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:

Other third parties

Libertarian

  • Christopher B. Garvey

General election

Results

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

By congressional district

James won 23 of 27 congressional districts, including three that elected Republicans, with the remaining four going to Wofford, including one that elected a Democrat.
DistrictJamesWoffordRepresentative
49.1%49.0%Lee Zeldin
50%48%Peter T. King
56%42%Thomas Suozzi
57%41%Kathleen Rice
89%10%Gregory Meeks
69%28%Grace Meng
89%8%Nydia Velázquez
89%10%Hakeem Jeffries
88%10%Yvette Clarke
81%17%Jerry Nadler
52%46%Max Rose
83%14%Carolyn Maloney
94%5%Adriano Espaillat
82%16%Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
95%4%Jose E. Serrano
77%21%Eliot Engel
63%34%Nita Lowey
52%45%Sean Patrick Maloney
49%47%Antonio Delgado
56%41%Paul Tonko
43%54%Elise Stefanik
44%53%Anthony Brindisi
42%54%Tom Reed
51%46%John Katko
56%41%Joe Morelle
58%39%Brian Higgins
36%61%Chris Collins