2022 New York Attorney General election

2022 New York Attorney General election

← 2018 November 8, 2022 2026 →
 
Nominee Letitia James Michael Henry
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Working Families Conservative
Popular vote 3,168,256 2,631,301
Percentage 54.6% 45.4%

2022 NY Attorney General by CD
James:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Henry:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%
     No votes

Attorney General before election

Letitia James
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Letitia James
Democratic

The 2022 New York Attorney General election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Letitia James was eligible for re-election, however originally decided to run for Governor of New York in 2022. On December 9, 2021, however, James 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%, a massive underperformance from her 27.2% victory in 2018.

Between every statewide race in New York in 2022, this is the only one where the incumbent (Letitia James) refused to debate their opponent.[1]

Democratic primary[edit]

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.[2] The Democratic primary for AG was cancelled and James advanced to the November general election.

Candidates[edit]

Official designee[edit]

Withdrew[edit]

Declined[edit]

Endorsements[edit]

Dan Goldman (withdrew)
U.S. representatives
Letitia James
U.S. executive branch officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives[23]
State officials
Local officials
Individuals
Organizations
Zephyr Teachout (withdrew)
State officials
Local officials
Individuals

Polling[edit]

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Andrew
Cuomo
Michael
Gianaris
Daniel
Goldman
Eric
Gonzalez
Letitia
James
Melinda
Katz
Sean Patrick
Maloney
Shelley
Mayer
Kathleen
Rice
Zephyr
Teachout
Clyde
Vanel
Maria
Vullo
Other Undecided
Emerson College March 9–10, 2022 504 (LV) ± 4.3% 47% 25% 28%
33% 45% 13% 9%
Data for Progress (D)[b] November 16–17, 2021 528 (LV) ± 4.0% 2% 5% 7% 7% 8% 2% 7% 15% 1% 1% 48%

Republican primary[edit]

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 Michael Henry earning the endorsement unanimously.[37]

Candidates[edit]

Official designee[edit]

Declined[edit]

  • Joseph H. Holland, former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal and candidate for attorney general in 1994 and 2018[40][41]

Withdrew[edit]

Endorsements[edit]

Michael Henry
Federal officials
Organizations

Conservative primary[edit]

Candidates[edit]

Official designee[edit]

  • Michael Henry, attorney[45]

General election[edit]

Predictions[edit]

Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[46] Safe D September 14, 2022
Elections Daily[47] Safe D November 1, 2022

Endorsements[edit]

Letitia James (D)
U.S. executive branch officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives[23]
State officials
Local officials
Individuals
Newspapers
Michael Henry (R)
U.S. executive branch officials
  • Nikki Haley, United States ambassador to the United Nations (2017–2018) and former Governor of South Carolina (2011–2017)[52]
Federal officials
Organizations
Newspapers

Polling[edit]

Graphical summary
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Letitia
James (D)
Michael
Henry (R)
Other Undecided
KAConsulting (R)[A] October 27–29, 2022 501 (LV) ± 4.4% 47% 41% 8%
Data for Progress (D) October 26–28, 2022 818 (LV) ± 3.0% 55% 40% 6%
Slingshot Strategies (D) October 25–26, 2022 1,000 (LV) ± 3.1% 48% 36% 16%
Siena College October 12–14, 2022 707 (LV) ± 4.9% 51% 40% 1%[c] 8%
The Trafalgar Group (R) September 30 – October 3, 2022 1,087 (LV) ± 2.9% 44% 45% 0% 10%
Siena College September 16–25, 2022 655 (LV) ± 3.9% 53% 37% 1%[d] 9%
The Trafalgar Group (R) August 31 – September 1, 2022 1,091 (LV) ± 2.9% 43% 44% 0% 13%
Emerson College July 26–28, 2022 1,000 (LV) ± 3.0% 50% 32% 4% 12%
Siena College July 24–28, 2022 806 (LV) ± 3.5% 50% 36% 0% 13%
Hypothetical polling
Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican with Andrew Cuomo as an independent
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Generic
Democrat
Generic
Republican
Andrew
Cuomo (I)
Undecided
Emerson College March 9–10, 2022 1,000 (RV) ± 3.0% 36% 34% 13% 17%

Results[edit]

2022 New York Attorney General election[54]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Letitia James 2,875,687 49.58% -8.80%
Working Families Letitia James 292,569 5.05% +2.51%
Total Letitia James (incumbent) 3,168,256 54.63% -7.79%
Republican Michael Henry 2,317,573 39.96% +9.05%
Conservative Michael Henry 313,728 5.41% +1.12%
Total Michael Henry 2,631,301 45.37% +10.17%
Total votes 5,799,557 100.0% N/A
Democratic hold

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ This poll was sponsored by Neal Kwatra on behalf of an unnamed donor
  3. ^ "Not going to vote" with 1%; "Another candidate" with 0%
  4. ^ "Not going to vote" with 1%
Partisan clients
  1. ^ Poll conducted for Citizens United, a conservative non-profit organization.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Justin, Raga (October 20, 2022). "Election Day is three weeks away. Which candidates will face off in debates before then?". Times Union. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Williams, Zach; Dorn, Sara (December 14, 2021). "The Democrats (not) running for New York attorney general". City & State NY. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Jarrett, Kim. "Republican attorney announces bid to challenge James for New York attorney general position". Olean Times Herald. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Lee, Michael (October 27, 2021). "NY AG Letitia James to announce run for governor: report". Fox News. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
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  11. ^ a b c "Zephyr Teachout Announces Run for New York Attorney General". NBC New York. November 15, 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
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  13. ^ "CBS6 Exclusive: Asm. Clyde Vanel announces run for Attorney General". WRGB. December 5, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "Clyde Vanel". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Vanel Suspends NY AG Campaign Announcement". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Vullo creates Attorney General campaign committee". TimesUnion.com. November 8, 2021. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Levulis, Jim (December 3, 2021). "Maria Vullo, former head of NY's Dept. Of Financial Services, launches AG bid". WAMC.org. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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  19. ^ Velasquez, Josefa (October 21, 2021). "Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez Eyeing Run for State Attorney General, Sources Say". TheCity.nyc. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c Bragg, Chris (May 17, 2018). "Gianaris drops out of Attorney General race, back James". Capitol Confidential. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  21. ^ "Laura Gillen launches Congress campaign in 4th District". Newsday. February 24, 2022. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
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  23. ^ a b c d Reisman, Nick (February 16, 2022). "16 New York House Democrats endorse state AG James for re-election". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
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  25. ^ Glueck, Katie; Fandos, Nicholas (November 29, 2021). "Rep. Tom Suozzi to Run for Governor of New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  26. ^ "Dan Goldman, lead counsel in Trump impeachment, to run for New York attorney general". New York Daily News. November 16, 2021. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Gillibrand, Kirsten [@SenGillibrand] (February 12, 2022). "I'm so proud to endorse my friend @TishJames for reelection as New York's attorney general! She's a tireless fighter who always does what it takes to defend our fundamental rights and stand up for New York families. We need her courage now more than ever!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ a b Reisman, Nick (February 15, 2022). "Sen. Schumer and AG James endorse each other". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Hochul on Tish dropping out of the race for governor: "I respect her tremendously, always have, that's never been not the case .. I look forward to having her on the ticket when we go into the election in November," Hochul says. "I support her reelection, yes."". Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Doherty, Kathy (February 13, 2022). "NYC's Adams Endorses James For Re-Election as Attorney General". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "2022 Endorsed Candidates". Everytown for Gun Safety. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  32. ^ Shahrigian, Shant (February 7, 2022). "Hotel workers union backs Attorney General Letitia James for reelection". New York Daily News. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  33. ^ a b Bergin, Brigid (November 15, 2021). "Teachout Launches State AG Bid Centering Women's Health And Progressive Support". Gothamist. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  34. ^ a b Butler, Matt (November 15, 2021). "Myrick, Kelles endorse Zephyr Teachout for New York State Attorney General". IthacaVoice.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  35. ^ Solomon, Joshua (November 15, 2021). "Teachout builds Capital Region, Hudson Valley support as she rolls out AG bid". Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  36. ^ Reisman, Nick (December 8, 2021). "Teachout's bid for AG gets endorsements from prominent activists". Spectrum Local News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  37. ^ Reporter, Robert J. McCarthy News Political (February 28, 2022). "In a surprise move, Michael Henry claims AG slot for state GOP". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  38. ^ a b Fink, Zack (March 1, 2022). "Republican Party nominates state attorney general, comptroller". NY1.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  39. ^ a b McCarthy, Robert (February 28, 2022). "In a surprise move, Michael Henry claims AG slot for state GOP". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  40. ^ Bragg, Chris (October 18, 2021). "Former Pataki commissioner eyes AG run". Times Union. Colonie, NY. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  41. ^ Williams, Zach (February 14, 2022). "Why New York Attorney General Letitia James is getting so many endorsements in an uncontested primary". City & State NY. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  42. ^ Bishop, Liz (December 8, 2021). "John Sarcone announces candidacy for AG, plans to restore confidence in public safety". WRGB. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  43. ^ a b "Stefanik endorses Henry for AG, Pinion for Senate". Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  44. ^ a b "Endorsement: Michael Henry For New York Attorney General". January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  45. ^ Reisman, Nick (February 27, 2022). "New York Conservative Party designates candidate slate". spectrumlocalnews.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  46. ^ "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape". Sabato's Crystal Ball. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  47. ^ Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  48. ^ "Letitia A. James for New York's attorney general". October 22, 2022.
  49. ^ "The Editorial Board: Letitia James for attorney general". October 26, 2022.
  50. ^ "Editorial: For Attorney General: Letitia James". October 26, 2022.
  51. ^ "Editorial endorsement: Letitia James for New York Attorney General". October 27, 2022.
  52. ^ "Nikki Haley endorses Henry for AG on Twitter".
  53. ^ "The Post endorses Michael Henry for NY state Attorney General". October 10, 2022.
  54. ^ "2022 General Election Results — Certified December 15, 2022". New York State Board of Elections.

External links[edit]

Official campaign websites