NY attorney general candidates Letitia James and Saritha Komatireddy make case to voters

ALBANY — Safety is the top issue for the two women vying to be the state’s chief lawyer and law enforcement officer, but incumbent Attorney General Letitia James and her Republican opponent, Saritha Komatireddy, differ on how to approach the role.

James, 68, of Brooklyn, a former public defender first elected to the role in 2018, becoming the first Black person and first woman elected to the job, is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

Komatireddy, 42, of Manhattan, a former prosecutor and partner at the Holtzman Vogel law firm, is running on the Republican and Conservative party lines. 

The state’s attorney general, a powerful, high-profile position, is charged with defending state laws and the executive branch in court, bringing cases on behalf of state residents, and launching investigations into fraud, crime and environmental and civil rights violations.

"Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority," James said in a statement to Newsday. "In my next term, I’ll remain focused on the issues that matter most to New Yorkers: safety, affordability, and justice."

James, seeking her third term, has highlighted her efforts to seize illegal guns and drugs, and  to sue  social media companies over their effects on children's mental health. If reelected, James said, she would continue those efforts and work to lower costs, which includes going after price gouging and protecting workers from wage theft.

Komatireddy served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York. If elected, she told Newsday, she would work to lock up repeat offenders and support district attorneys at the local level; change the state’s bail laws; focus on fraud, particularly when it comes to Medicaid; and fight cybercrimes, which largely affect senior citizens.

She also would work to build out treatment centers for people experiencing homelessness who are dealing with mental health issues or substance abuse, and launch an office of civil commitment staffed with law enforcement and health professionals to help intervene when someone is having a severe episode on the street, she said.

She said families are afraid for their safety, taxpayers are being robbed by fraud, and there are people suffering from mental illness and experiencing homelessness.

"I’m running because I care about the people of New York and I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do," she said in a statement to Newsday.

Komatireddy, a mother of four, served as a chief of staff for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration under the Biden administration and as deputy chief of appeals in the Eastern District of New York. She clerked for now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was at the U.S. Court of Appeals. She has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

James previously served as the New York City public advocate from 2014 to 2018 and was also a New York City councilwoman representing parts of Brooklyn.

She has brought more than 80 lawsuits against the Trump administration, including to fight the suspension of New York’s offshore wind projects and efforts to overturn birthright citizenship.

"I’ll keep fighting to hold the powerful to account, whether in Albany, Wall Street, or Washington," James said in an emailed statement.

Komatireddy has accused James of being too political and using the office to go after her opponents.

"I think the attorney general should be a nonpartisan law enforcement professional focused on keeping New Yorkers safe," she told Newsday.

James, in a televised debate on Oct. 8, responded to criticism about her allegedly going after Trump and having a political agenda, saying, "Politics stops at the door of the office of the attorney general. ... Each and every day I have to defend the State of New York against these illegal and unconstitutional executive orders."

James was also criticized for comments she made calling the victim of an alleged 2024 gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity a "survivor" and saying "We stand with you" in a social media post before her office was asked by Gov. Kathy Hochul to lead an investigation into the allegations. Komatireddy said James "already screwed this one up by prejudging it."

An attorney representing one of the seven accused men has asked a state judge to remove James as special prosecutor due to her comments.

When asked about the criticism during the debate, James said, "Those comments demonstrate empathy, and what we need now more than ever in our body politic is more empathy. ... I can assure New Yorkers that we will engage in a thorough investigation, which will be based on the facts and the law and guided by the evidence."