(Bloomberg) — New York Attorney General Letitia James has capped her career so far with the probe that brought down Governor Andrew Cuomo. Now she’s running to replace him.
James, 63, announced her 2022 candidacy on Friday, after building a national profile with lawsuits targeting the Trump administration, the National Rifle Association and Silicon Valley, all in her first term and with a year to go.
“New Yorkers need a governor who isn’t afraid to stand up to powerful interests on behalf of the vulnerable,” James said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I’ve taken on big forces and New Yorkers know I will never back down when it comes to fighting for them.”
James, a Democrat whose investigation into claims of sexual harassment by Cuomo helped trigger his resignation in August and a misdemeanor sex crimes charge this week, would become the nation’s first Black woman to be elected governor.
She spent a decade on the New York City Council and four years as the city’s public advocate before becoming attorney general in January 2019, and was frequently mentioned as a contender for Cuomo’s job before the scandal that engulfed him. Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer were also attorney general before running for governor.
Her run sets up a competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary. Cuomo was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who has said she will run. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has filed the paperwork for his candidacy.
James’s announcement, which was expected, came after the criminal complaint was filed against Cuomo by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office alleging he groped a woman last year in the governor’s mansion. Sheriff Craig Apple said in a Friday afternoon press conference that the evidence against the former governor was “overwhelming.”
Cuomo, a former ally of James, has denied wrongdoing and called her investigation and report politically motivated. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi called James’s announcement “confirmation of the worst kept secret in state politics” in a statement issued Friday.
“Tish James abused her office to falsely accuse Governor Cuomo because she was afraid to confront him in an election and let the people decide,” said Azzopardi.
Read More: New York Versus the World — Letitia James Is Picking Big Fights
As attorney general, James frequently clashed in court over policy with Donald Trump, a fact she highlighted in a video announcing her campaign.
“I sued the Trump administration 76 times,” she said. “But who’s counting?”
She also launched a civil probe, which has expanded to a criminal one, into whether the Trump Organization engaged in bank and insurance fraud by misrepresenting the value of its assets. She joined Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. on the ongoing tax fraud prosecution of the company and its former chief financial officer.
Both have pleaded not guilty, and the former Republican president has called the probe by Vance, also a Democrat, a political hit job.
James helped lead legal battles against what she described as monopolies on social media, joining other states in lawsuits against Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Last year she initiated a sprawling suit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association, which was founded in New York, accusing the gun rights group of engaging in a massive fraud against donors. All have rejected the allegations.
Her confrontation with Cuomo over allegations of inappropriate behavior with women who worked in state government further raised her profile. Her report concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women and created a “climate of fear.” She said in a statement at the time that his resignation “closes a sad chapter.”
“I thank Governor Cuomo for his contributions to our state,” James said. “We must continue to build on the progress already made and improve the lives of New Yorkers in every corner of the state.”
Across the aisle, the state’s Republican Party selected U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin as its presumptive nominee for the governor’s race in June, keen to avoid a primary.
“I welcome Letitia James to the race,” Zeldin said in a statement Friday, “although with her entry to the Democratic Party primary, the ever expanding Democrat field only consists of candidates who are far-left, wannabe far-left, and even farther left.”
Other Republican candidates include Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and former Westchester County executive Rob Astorino, who lost to Cuomo in 2014.
Read More: Andrew Giuliani Nods to Trump, Wants N.Y. to Be ‘National Race’
(Updates with comment from Cuomo spokesman and Republican candidate.)
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