A statewide race for New York attorney general this year is drawing significant attention, especially as it compares with the Democratic gubernatorial race between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
The Republican nominee in the attorney general race is Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who has been endorsed by the New York Conservative Party. Gerard Kassar, chairman of the party, stated: “The incumbent is Tish James and her opponent is Saritha Komatireddy — a real prosecutor.”
Letitia James, the incumbent attorney general, is known for filing a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump that resulted in penalties and fines totaling $400 million.
The appearance of the once-and-future president — whom James has called an “illegitimate” president in nationally televised proceedings — reportedly helped boost her political profile. However, James abandoned her primary challenge to Hochul in 2022 and instead sought re-election as New York’s attorney general.
Komatireddy stated: “With Tish James it is all about her far-left agenda and nothing about prosecuting criminals — which is what I have done and what I’m good at.” Komatireddy, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York for 13 years after graduating from Harvard Law School and was also chief of staff to the Drug Enforcement Administration, described her background.
Komatireddy, the daughter of Indian immigrants and mother of four, became inspired to study law following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. She has also worked as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice-to-be Brett Kavanaugh and was nominated by President Trump to the U.S. District Court — though her nomination was never accepted by the then-Democratic-controlled Senate.
Komatireddy contrasted her record with James’s: “Crime has gone up 26 percent statewide and 45 percent citywide alone.” She cited “$1 billion in fare evasion from subways every year” as an example of lax enforcement, adding that “one million New Yorkers left the state over the last five years.”
Komatireddy has campaigned in 41 of New York’s 62 counties this summer, claiming each county has a crime story. She likened herself to current NYC Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, saying: “Think of [New York City Police Commissioner] Jessica Tisch… Think of me as a prosecutorial version of Commissioner Tisch.”
