State Sen. Mike Gianaris
The Queens Democrat has spent years preparing to run for the attorney general’s office whenever Schneiderman declined to do so — and he’s amassed a $2.2 million war chest for just that purpose. On Tuesday, he said he was still very interested.
“I’m getting a lot of really strong encouragement to run, which I appreciate,” he told POLITICO. “There are a lot of moving parts right now, this is all one day old, so I think there’s still time for this thing to play out, but I’m interested and exploring it.”
As the head of his conference’s campaign efforts for the past seven years, Gianaris might have an advantage in a potential crowded primary field, as he’s spent the past several election cycles getting to know top Democrats in every corner of the state. But as a white male, he could face a hurdle in the Legislature, where Democrats are clearly hungry for a candidate who’ll add diversity to the roster of statewide officials.
New York City Public Advocate Tish James
James rapidly emerged as a candidate who could possibly win appointment by the Legislature and continue into the general election season. She’s a woman of color and an attorney who as New York City’s public advocate already has been active filing lawsuits as a kind of people’s lawyer.
James is also well-liked by leaders of the Working Families Party, which would provide a critical buttress in a competitive Democratic primary, and had been floated as a possible replacement for Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul — a sign that Cuomo would be open to her candidacy.
And critically, several sources said, Heastie and other Democrats from the Bronx are open to pushing the former Brooklyn council member because of the move’s secondary effects. James is considering a run for mayor in 2021, when she is term-limited in her current job (as is Mayor Bill de Blasio). If she were state attorney general, however, it’s unlikely that she would make a bid for mayor. That could benefit Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who is also looking at a mayoral run.
At several points on Tuesday, James refused to say whether she wanted the job. “The next attorney general will be decided by the state legislature and I await their decision. Thank you,” she said before running away from reporters.
Rep. Kathleen Rice
A former Nassau County district attorney, Rice ran for attorney general in 2010 and finished just a few points behind Schneiderman in a five-way primary where she was the only woman. She still has $1.6 million in a state campaign account that could be used for a run.
Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs told POLITICO that he has spoken with Rice and “she definitely has an interest in it and is taking a good look at it."
“She's run for it before. It is a job she aspired to at one time and I think she does again. She'll be a formal candidate, and I'm sure she'll throw her hat in the ring,” Jacobs said.
But such a candidacy would reverberate: it would require Rice to vacate her House seat, which is in a potentially competitive district. That would potentially draw out state Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) as a congressional candidate, which would in turn create a competitive race in the state Senate. Democrats are fighting to take outright control of the chamber in November’s general election.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces that all impact one another,” Jacobs said. “Just what I was looking forward to.”
And of course, Republicans could just refuse to play along with Democrats and force them to keep Underwood. Things get messy depending on who is picked and then runs in November, New York's famously (and ridiculously) late mid-September primary means we could be having this fight for some time.
The most important thing to remember is that Schneiderman was looking into the Trump organization, and keeping those cases moving has to be the top priority for Dems, not that I expect a Trump partisan to win.
But there's one more name that needs to be mentioned, of course.
Preet Bharara
The former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York quickly emerged quickly on Twitter as a potential candidate, but on Tuesday gave no signals that he would do so.
One political operative referred to Bharara as the “800-pound gorilla” looming over the primary, but after he was fired by President Donald Trump last spring he ignored pleas to seek office in New York. He has not laid any groundwork for a political campaign, and has focused on media commentary about the Trump administration.
And as a prosecutor who targeted state legislators, he would have no chance of winning their appointment, lawmakers said.
We'll see. Bharara has made some indication today that he's not ruling out a run.
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