Attorney General of New York

New York Attorney General
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$220,000
2024 FY Budget:	$325,277,000
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	New York Constitution, Article V, Section I
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Attorney General of New York Letitia James Democratic Party Assumed office: January 1, 2019
Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
Other New York Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Comptroller • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Financial Services Superintendent • Environmental Conservation Commissioner•Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission • Insurance

The Attorney General of New York is the state's chief legal officer and heads the New York State Department of Law. According to the office's official website, the attorney general "not only advises the Executive branch of State government, but also defends actions and proceedings on behalf of the State." The attorney general is elected in the midterm elections and serves four-year terms.

New York has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Attorney General Letitia James (D). She won election to the position on November 6, 2018.

Authority

The New York Constitution addresses the office of attorney general in Article V, Officers and Civil Departments.

Under Article V, Section I:

The comptroller and attorney-general shall be chosen at the same general election as the governor and hold office for the same term, and shall possess the qualifications provided in section 2 of article IV...

Qualifications

Under state law, in order to be considered for the office of attorney general, a person must be:

• at least 30 years old
• a resident of New York for at least five years next preceding the election

Elections

New York elects attorneys general in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For New York, 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030 and 2034 are all attorney general election years.

2022

See also: New York Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of New York

Incumbent Letitia James defeated Michael Henry in the general election for Attorney General of New York on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Letitia James (D / Working Families Party)	54.6	3,168,256
		Michael Henry (R / Conservative Party)	45.3	2,631,301
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	3,073

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,802,630
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sean Hayes (L)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Letitia James advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of New York.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Zephyr Teachout (D)
• Daniel Goldman (D)
• Clyde Vanel (D)
• Shelley Mayer (D)
• Maria Vullo (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Michael Henry advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of New York.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Sarcone III (R)
• Joseph Holland (R)

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Michael Henry advanced from the Conservative Party primary for Attorney General of New York.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Incumbent Letitia James advanced from the Working Families Party primary for Attorney General of New York.

2018

See also: New York Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of New York

Letitia James defeated Keith Wofford, Michael Sussman, Christopher B. Garvey, and Nancy Sliwa in the general election for Attorney General of New York on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Letitia James (D)	62.4	3,739,239
		Keith Wofford (R)	35.2	2,108,600
		Michael Sussman (G)	1.2	72,512
		Christopher B. Garvey (L)	0.7	43,767
		Nancy Sliwa (Reform Party)	0.4	26,441
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	2,958

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,993,517
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Vincent Messina (Independence Party)
• Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of New York

Letitia James defeated Zephyr Teachout, Sean Maloney, and Leecia Eve in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Letitia James	40.3	608,308
		Zephyr Teachout	31.0	468,083
		Sean Maloney	25.1	379,099
		Leecia Eve	3.5	52,367

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,507,857
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of New York

Keith Wofford advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Keith Wofford

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Green primary election

Green primary for Attorney General of New York

Michael Sussman advanced from the Green primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Michael Sussman

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Independence Party primary election

Independence Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Vincent Messina advanced from the Independence Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Vincent Messina

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Reform Party primary election

Reform Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Nancy Sliwa defeated Michael Diederich Jr. and Christopher B. Garvey in the Reform Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nancy Sliwa	52.8	14,864
		Michael Diederich Jr.	24.0	6,752
		Christopher B. Garvey	23.2	6,533

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,149
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Working Families Party primary election

Working Families Party primary for Attorney General of New York

Kenneth Schaeffer advanced from the Working Families Party primary for Attorney General of New York on September 13, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Kenneth Schaeffer

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: New York Attorney General election, 2014

Attorney General of New York, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Eric Schneiderman Incumbent	55.7%	2,069,956
	Republican	John Cahill	41.4%	1,538,990
	Green	Ramon Jimenez	2.2%	80,813
	Libertarian	Carl Person	0.7%	24,746
Total Votes				3,714,505
Election results via New York State Board of Elections

Full History

To view the electoral history dating back to 2002 for the office of New York Attorney General, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Eric Schneiderman won election to the office of New York Attorney General. He defeated Dan Donovan (R), Carl Person (L) and Ramon Jimenez (Frdm) in the general election. New York Attorney General, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Eric Schneiderman 55.8% 2,477,438      Republican Dan Donovan 43% 1,909,525      Libertarian Carl Person 0.8% 36,488      FDM Ramon Jimenez 0.4% 18,028 Total Votes 4,441,479 Election results via New York Board of Elections. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Andrew Cuomo won election to the office of New York Attorney General. He defeated Jeanine Pirro (R), Rachel Treichler (G), Christopher B. Garvey (L) and Martin Koppel (SW) in the general election. New York Attorney General, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Andrew Cuomo 58.3% 2,509,311      Republican Jeanine Pirro 39.3% 1,692,580      Green Rachel Treichler 1.4% 61,849      Libertarian Christopher B. Garvey 0.7% 29,413      Socialist Workers Martin Koppel 0.2% 10,197 Total Votes 4,303,350 Election results via New York Board of Elections. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Eliot Spitzer won re-election to the office of New York Attorney General. He defeated Dora Irizarry (R), John J. Broderick (RTL), Mary Jo Long (G) and Daniel A. Conti, Jr. (L) in the general election. New York Attorney General, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Eliot Spitzer Incumbent 66.4% 2,744,302      Republican Dora Irizarry 29.9% 1,234,899      Right to Life John J. Broderick 1.9% 78,268      Green Mary Jo Long 1.2% 50,755      Libertarian Daniel A. Conti, Jr. 0.6% 23,213 Total Votes 4,131,437 Election results via New York Board of Elections.

Vacancies

New York state government organizational chart

As set out in Article V of the New York Constitution, vacancies in the office will be filled by the legislature.

Duties

The attorney general's official website calls the officer "People's Lawyer" and the state's chief legal officer. Duties included on this resource include:

“

Serving as the guardian of the legal rights of the citizens of New York, its organizations and its natural resources Providing legal counsel to the executive branch of state government Defending actions and proceedings on behalf of the state Charged with the statutory and common law powers to protect consumers and investors, charitable donors, the public health and environment, civil rights and the rights of wage-earners and businesses across the state Overseeing the activities and investigations of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

”

Divisions

As of January 13, 2021, the attorney general's legal functions are divided into five major divisions:

• Appeals and Opinions
• State Counsel
• Criminal Justice
• Economic Justice
• Social Justice

State budget

See also: New York state budget and finances

The budget for the New York State Department of Law for the Fiscal Year 2024 was $325,277,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The salary of the attorney general is determined by the New York State Legislature. Executive Law §60 of the New York State Consolidated Laws states the following:

	Text of Executive Law §60 There shall continue to be in the state government a department of law. The head of the department of law shall be the attorney-general who shall receive an annual salary of one hundred fifty-one thousand five hundred dollars.

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $220,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the attorney general received a salary of $210,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $210,000, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the attorney general received a salary of $151,500, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the attorney general received a salary of $151,500, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the attorney general received a salary of $151,500, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $151,500, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $151,500, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the attorney general was paid an estimated $151,500 according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the attorney general was paid an estimated $151,500 according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Attorney General of New York has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New York Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Attorney General of New York - Google News

Contact information

State Office Building
44 Hawley Street, 17th Floor
Binghamton, NY 13901-4433

Phone: 607-721-8771
Toll Free Phone: 800-788-9898
Fax: 607-721-8789

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the New York Attorney General
• About the office of New York Attorney General