28 October 2021: Tish James to Announce Run for NY Governor

AP Sources: Letitia James will run for New York governor

This report indicates Letitia "Tish" James may soon announce her candidacy to run for NY Governor in 2022.

New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to run for governor, according to three people directly familiar with her plans who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

James will enter the race as a formidable candidate for the Democratic nomination just months after issuing a damning report that drove Andrew Cuomo from office in a sexual harassment scandal.

The three people familiar with her plans were not authorized to speak publicly. James is expected to make an announcement later this week, according to one of the people.

Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a James campaign adviser said in a statement: “Attorney General Letitia James has made a decision regarding the governor’s race. She will be announcing it in the coming days.”

James, 63, is the first woman elected as New York’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role. With a power base in New York City, she is poised to be a top threat to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had been Cuomo’s lieutenant governor.

The timeline wonders if James' pending gubernatorial candidacy would be a thing if replacement NY Governor Hochul had prioritized addressing Andrew M. Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandals. Hochul's leadership failure on that count has certainly given James an opening, though one Hochul could easily address if she wanted.