17 September 2021: NY Atty General Tish James Starting to Think About Running for NY Governor

NY Attorney General Letitia James held private talks about running for governor in wake of Cuomo resignation

Letitia James, and frankly, everyone who criticized Andrew M. Cuomo, was often accused of secretly running for governor by Cuomo's chief PR flack, Rich Azzopardi. This report indicates that the current New York state attorney general didn't seriously begin investigating the possibility until after Andrew M. Cuomo had resigned.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been talking with her advisors and supporters about potentially running for governor next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

In the weeks since James’ investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo ended early last month, she and her political advisors have been testing the waters to see whether she would have the backing of previous donors and supporters if she opts against running for reelection and instead runs for governor.

James’ name recognition within the state and beyond has skyrocketed in recent years. In addition to her investigation into Cuomo, the attorney general’s office has been probing the National Rifle Association and former President Donald Trump’s company, the Trump Organization.

James and her allies have been weighing the pros and cons of running in a Democratic primary for governor, some of these people added. One drawback would be giving up the powerful attorney general job.

Another potential hurdle is that the current governor, Kathy Hochul, has done fairly well in the polls and has several months to build popularity and donor support from a position of considerable power.

We think the likelihood of James running for NY governor will increase proportionally with the number of incidents where Hochul allows Andrew M. Cuomo's interests to be put ahead of the public interest. We don't think it's an accident this story came out so soon after Hochul's JCOPE pick voted to do just that.