New York attorney general Letitia James ends run for governor

AP | New York Attorney General Letitia James suspended her campaign for governor on Thursday, saying she will run for reelection to her current position to “finish the job” amid numerous ongoing investigations.

James, a Democrat, had announced in late October that she was running for governor, 2 months after a sexual harassment investigation she oversaw led former Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign. She had been expected to be a strong challenger against Governor Kathy Hochul for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in an increasingly crowded field.

“I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general,” James, a Democrat, said in a statement. “There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job. I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do.”

James, 63, is the first woman elected as New York’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role. Had she been elected to the governor’s mansion, James would have been the first Black person elected to the role. Former Governor David Paterson took over in 2007 when Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned in a sex scandal and never ran for the office in his own right.

James ended her campaign for governor the same day it was reported that she was seeking to have former President Donald Trump sit for a January 7 deposition in an ongoing civil probe into his business practices. James’ office would not comment on the Trump matter but it has spent more than 2 years looking at whether the Trump Organization misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets.

Since announcing her campaign in October, James held few campaign events or news conferences and mostly stuck to her official calendar as attorney general. In recent weeks, she publicly called for the governor to take more aggressive measures to fight rising COVID-19 cases, such as imposing a statewide mask mandate.

James collected early endorsements from state lawmakers, local officials and at least one nationally known Democrat: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Since she became attorney general in 2019, James’ office filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal policies on immigration, the environment and other matters. James also filed a lawsuit accusing National Rifle Association leaders of financial mismanagement – seeking to shut down the gun-rights organization – and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from companies involved in the opioid industry.

James’ decision to run for governor so soon after overseeing the investigation that led to Cuomo’s exit reinforced feelings among his allies that the probe was politically motivated – an assertion James has dismissed.

Both the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office are on the ballot in 2022.