New York City, New York: Letitia James Wins Third Term as Attorney General, Beats Komatireddy

New York Attorney General Letitia James has won reelection to a third term, defeating Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy in the November 3 midterm election. WAMC reported the result at 1:41 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 4. With 86 percent of votes totaled as of 1:38 a.m., James had 60.2 percent of the vote to Komatireddy's 39.8 percent, and the Associated Press projected her victory.

James declared victory just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday in a speech to hundreds of supporters at the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. "My heart is full tonight," she said. "The victory belongs to each and every one of you. And so for nearly eight years, we've fought for every New Yorker without fear and without favor. And tonight, New Yorkers told us loud and clear, they want Tish James to finish the job." She appeared alongside Governor Kathy Hochul and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, and Democrats swept the top of the New York ticket on Tuesday night. DiNapoli was also reelected, with 64.5 percent statewide in the AP count reported by Spectrum News NY1.

The city carried her, and Staten Island did not

In New York City, James won 75.6 percent in the Board of Elections unofficial results reported by NY1. She took 83.5 percent in the Bronx, 80.1 percent in Manhattan, 79.7 percent in Brooklyn and 71.6 percent in Queens. Komatireddy carried Staten Island with 58.9 percent. The race tightened late. At 10:35 p.m., with 67 percent of the votes counted, James led 63 percent to 37 percent, and a Siena University poll taken October 19 to 22 among 807 likely voters had put her ahead 54 percent to 39 percent.

A race fought over Trump and over crime

James, a Democrat first elected in 2018 and in office since 2019, campaigned on her record of protecting New Yorkers from federal cuts and immigration crackdowns, WAMC reported. She has sued the Trump administration more than 80 times, often leading coalitions of Democratic attorneys general, according to Gothamist reporting, and she won a civil fraud judgment against the president's business in 2023. Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor from New York City who worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, ran on public safety and had the endorsement of President Donald Trump. In a statement posted on Tuesday night, Komatireddy thanked her supporters. "I'm proud of the campaign we ran," she said. "We showed that politics does not have to be about division and it's not about hate."

What happens next

James, the first woman of color elected to statewide office in New York and the first woman elected attorney general, starts a new four-year term that runs through 2030. The results are unofficial until they are certified. Her office remains the state's top legal office, and the win keeps one of the president's most prominent legal adversaries in place for the fights both campaigns spent the fall describing.