Progressive candidate and Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout suspended her campaign for New York attorney general, clearing the way for the current AG, Letitia James, to skate toward reelection.
The announcement from Teachout on Sunday came days after James revealed she was dropping out of the Democratic primary for governor to oversee “a number of important investigations and cases that are under way” including the civil fraud inquiry looking at the Trump Organization’s business practices. In her statement, Teachout said James’s decision to run for attorney general spurred her to leave the race and endorse the incumbent, citing James’s “critical fights to deliver justice for the people of New York.” Teachout ran for attorney general in 2018, losing in the primary to James; in 2014, she attempted to flank then-Governor Andrew Cuomo from the left in the gubernatorial primary, gaining 34 percent of the vote.
With Teachout’s endorsement, the Democratic primary for New York attorney general is looking pretty safe for James, who is in the midst of the Trump inquiry and working with the momentum of the probe into Cuomo’s alleged sexual misconduct; findings from her office’s inquiry led to Cuomo stepping down in August. The primary field is not empty, however, with Queens assemblyman Clyde Vanel and Maria Vullo, the state’s former top banking and insurance regulator, still in the race.
