2022 New York Attorney General election
The 2022 New York Attorney General election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Letitia James was eligible for re-election, but originally decided to run for Governor of New York in 2022. On December 9, 2021, however, she suspended her gubernatorial campaign and announced that she would seek re-election as attorney general. Republicans nominated Michael Henry, an attorney from Queens. James defeated Henry by a margin of 9.2%, down from her 27.2% victory in 2018.
Of all the statewide races in New York in 2022, this is the only one where the incumbent refused to debate their opponent.
Democratic primary
After incumbent attorney general Letitia James announced her candidacy for governor of New York, several other Democrats launched campaigns for attorney general. When James suspended her campaign for governor and announced that she would seek re-election instead, those candidates ended their campaigns for attorney general and endorsed James. As of June 23, 2022, James had no primary challengers. The Democratic primary for AG was cancelled and James advanced to the November general election.Candidates
Nominee
- Letitia James, incumbent attorney general
Withdrew
- Dan Goldman, former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former general counsel for the U.S. House Intelligence Committee '
- Shelley Mayer, state senator from the 37th district '
- Zephyr Teachout, Fordham University Associate Professor, candidate for governor in 2014, nominee for NY-19 in 2016, and candidate for attorney general in 2018 '
- Clyde Vanel, state assemblyman for the 33rd District of New York '
- Maria Vullo, former Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services ''''
Declined
- Michael Gianaris, state senator from the 12th district ; Deputy Majority Leader of the New York State Senate ; state assemblymember from the 36th district '
- Laura Gillen, former town supervisor of Hempstead '
- Sean Patrick Maloney, U.S. representative for NY-18 ; candidate for attorney general in 2018 '
- Kathleen Rice, U.S. representative for NY-4 '
- Tom Suozzi, U.S. representative for NY-3 ''''
Polling
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Andrew Cuomo | Michael Gianaris | Daniel Goldman | Eric Gonzalez | Letitia James | Melinda Katz | Maloney | Shelley Mayer | Kathleen Rice | Zephyr Teachout | Clyde Vanel | Maria Vullo | Other | Undecided |
| Emerson College | March 9–10, 2022 | 504 | ± 4.3% | – | – | – | – | 47% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 25% | 28% |
| Emerson College | March 9–10, 2022 | 504 | ± 4.3% | 33% | – | – | – | 45% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13% | 9% |
| Data for Progress | November 16–17, 2021 | 528 | ± 4.0% | – | 2% | 5% | 7% | – | 7% | 8% | 2% | 7% | 15% | 1% | 1% | – | 48% |
Republican primary
Two candidates, John Sarcone and Michael Henry, competed for the Republican nomination. In a surprise move, Sarcone declined to be nominated at the state Republican convention, leading to Henry earning the endorsement unanimously.Candidates
Nominee
- Michael Henry, attorney
Declined
- Joseph H. Holland, former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal; candidate for attorney general in 1994 and 2018
Withdrew
- John Sarcone, former General Services Administration official
Conservative primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Michael Henry, attorney
General election
Polling
Graphical summary| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Letitia James | Michael Henry | Other | Undecided |
| KAConsulting | October 27–29, 2022 | 501 | ± 4.4% | 47% | 41% | – | 8% |
| Data for Progress | October 26–28, 2022 | 818 | ± 3.0% | 55% | 40% | – | 6% |
| Slingshot Strategies | October 25–26, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.1% | 48% | 36% | – | 16% |
| Siena College | October 12–14, 2022 | 707 | ± 4.9% | 51% | 40% | 1% | 8% |
| The Trafalgar Group | September 30 – October 3, 2022 | 1,087 | ± 2.9% | 44% | 45% | 0% | 10% |
| Siena College | September 16–25, 2022 | 655 | ± 3.9% | 53% | 37% | 1% | 9% |
| The Trafalgar Group | August 31 – September 1, 2022 | 1,091 | ± 2.9% | 43% | 44% | 0% | 13% |
| Emerson College | July 26–28, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 50% | 32% | 4% | 12% |
| Siena College | July 24–28, 2022 | 806 | ± 3.5% | 50% | 36% | 0% | 13% |
Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican with Andrew Cuomo as an independent
| Poll source | Date administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Democrat | Generic Republican | Andrew Cuomo | Undecided |
| Emerson College | March 9–10, 2022 | 1,000 | ± 3.0% | 36% | 34% | 13% | 17% |
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to RepublicanBy congressional district
James won 16 of 26 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.| District | James | Henry | Representative |
| 44% | 56% | Lee Zeldin | |
| 44% | 56% | Nick LaLota | |
| 2nd | 41% | 59% | Andrew Garbarino |
| 45% | 55% | Tom Suozzi | |
| 45% | 55% | George Santos | |
| 48% | 52% | Kathleen Rice | |
| 48% | 52% | Anthony D'Esposito | |
| 5th | 75% | 25% | Gregory Meeks |
| 6th | 57% | 43% | Grace Meng |
| 7th | 79% | 21% | Nydia Velázquez |
| 8th | 72% | 28% | Hakeem Jeffries |
| 9th | 72% | 28% | Yvette Clarke |
| 83% | 17% | Jerry Nadler | |
| 83% | 17% | Dan Goldman | |
| 11th | 37% | 63% | Nicole Malliotakis |
| 80% | 20% | Carolyn Maloney | |
| 80% | 20% | Jerry Nadler | |
| 13th | 88% | 12% | Adriano Espaillat |
| 14th | 72% | 28% | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez |
| 15th | 81% | 19% | Ritchie Torres |
| 16th | 64% | 36% | Jamaal Bowman |
| 50.4% | 49.6% | Mondaire Jones | |
| 50.4% | 49.6% | Mike Lawler | |
| 51% | 49% | Sean Patrick Maloney | |
| 51% | 49% | Pat Ryan | |
| 48% | 52% | Pat Ryan | |
| 48% | 52% | Marc Molinaro | |
| 20th | 55% | 45% | Paul Tonko |
| 21st | 39% | 61% | Elise Stefanik |
| 48% | 52% | Claudia Tenney | |
| 48% | 52% | Brandon Williams | |
| 37% | 63% | Joe Sempolinski | |
| 37% | 63% | Nick Langworthy | |
| 35% | 65% | John Katko | |
| 35% | 65% | Claudia Tenney | |
| 25th | 54% | 46% | Joseph Morelle |
| 26th | 58% | 42% | Brian Higgins |