Attorney general race: Letitia James runs on her Trump fights as Saritha Komatireddy pitches crime and fraud

The governor's race is getting most of the attention, but New Yorkers will also pick an attorney general on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Democrat Letitia James, first elected in 2018, is seeking a third term against Republican Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor. Their race has turned largely on one person who isn't on the ballot: President Donald Trump, Gothamist reported.

Where the race stands

The final Siena poll, taken Oct. 19–22 among 807 likely voters (margin of error ±4.1 points), had James ahead 54% to 39%, up slightly from 52–39 in September. James led 70–22 in New York City and 50–44 in the downstate suburbs, while Komatireddy led upstate 48–46. Komatireddy is better known than she was a month ago: her favorability rose to 26% favorable, 15% unfavorable, with 59% still having no opinion. James was at 51% favorable, 39% unfavorable.

"While James does not have a DiNapoli-sized lead, she appears poised to be comfortably re-elected," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in the release, pointing to her 87% support among Democrats and a 50–40 lead among independents. For the governor's race and the other statewide polls, see our final polls roundup.

James: the Trump fights

James has sued the Trump administration more than 80 times, often leading coalitions of Democratic attorneys general, over issues from immigration enforcement to Medicaid funding and housing grants, Gothamist reported. She also won a civil fraud judgment against Trump's business in 2023. That case has been a mixed result: an appeals court threw out the original $500 million disgorgement penalty, and the case is still before the state Court of Appeals. A federal mortgage-fraud indictment that Trump's Justice Department brought against James was thrown out by a court.

James told Gothamist that voters across the state thank her for "standing up" to the president. She said Komatireddy's focus on street crime misunderstands a job that is traditionally civil, from opioid settlements to the state's case against Meta. "If she's interested in being a district attorney, I would urge her to pick one district attorney — there are 62 of them — and run against them," James said.

Komatireddy: crime, fraud and "competent government"

Komatireddy says she voted for Trump. She stresses that she served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York under Trump, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and was chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration under Biden. She has accused James of being "obsessed with national politics" and says she would reorganize the office around crime and fraud, Gothamist reported.

Her profile grew after the candidates' only debate earlier this month. Clips of her attacks on James spread online, and Trump praised her performance on Truth Social without naming her. Gothamist, citing state disclosure records, said she raised about $500,000 in the 11 days after the debate, not counting public matching funds, compared with about $700,000 in the three months before it.

Experts quoted by Gothamist were split on her crime pitch. A longtime defense attorney who teaches at John Jay College called it "not a great idea" because street crime needs local knowledge. Ben Max of New York Law School said an attorney general could target organized crime that crosses county lines and act on referrals from state agencies and the governor.

How to vote

• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3. Look up your Election Day poll site at findmypollsite.vote.nyc or call 1-866-VOTE-NYC, the city Board of Elections says.
• Early voting ends today, Sunday, Nov. 1.
• See our election guide for the races and the ballot proposals.