Rep. Maloney enters N.Y. attorney general’s race
Hudson Valley Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney has formally launched his bid to be state attorney general.
Rep. Maloney, D-Cold Spring, announced his candidacy Tuesday, several weeks after first saying he was interested in the job.
He becomes the fourth Democrat to enter the race. The others are New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, who has the backing of the state Democratic Committee; Verizon executive Leecia Eve; and Dutchess County resident Zephyr Teachout, a law school professor who lost a Democratic primary to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014 and the 19th Congressional District race to Rep. John Faso in 2016.
The four Democrats will square off in a September primary. Maloney, who has been nominated to seek reelection in the 18th Congressional District, which includes part of the lower
Hudson Valley, said he will stay in the House race if he loses the attorney general primary. If he wins the primary, he said, he will bow out of the House race so a different Democrat can run.
The Republican candidate for state attorney general is Keith Wofford, a New York City attorney.
Democrat Eric Schneiderman resigned as attorney general in early May after the publication of allegations that he physically accused four women with whom he was romantically involved.
State Solicitor General Barbara Underwood is serving as interim attorney general until the end of the year. She has said she does not plan to run for the job.