The 2014 New York Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Attorney General of New York. The incumbent Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman won reelection to a second term in office, defeating Republican John P. Cahill.
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 County results Schneiderman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Cahill: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
Incumbent Democratic attorney general Andrew Cuomo declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead successfully running for Governor. State Senator Eric Schneiderman narrowly won the Democratic primary and then won the general election by a wide margin.
In 2014, all statewide offices in New York were held by Democrats. Republicans believed that their best chance of winning a statewide election in 2014 rested on defeating Schneiderman, citing Governor Cuomo's high approval ratings and large campaign war chest and the belief that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli was unlikely to be vulnerable because "Comptrollers seem to get re-elected as long as they do their jobs."[1] Schneiderman has used his designation as Republicans' "top target" to raise money.[2]
Governing did not believe Schneiderman would be defeated in 2014. A March 2013 article listed the 2014 New York attorney general election as "not competitive", citing the high-profile cases Schneiderman had taken on.[3] A December 2013 article rated the race as "Safe Democratic", stating that "Schneiderman should have no problem winning a second term."[4]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general[2][5]
Withdrew
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominated
- John P. Cahill, attorney and former chief of staff for Governor George Pataki[8]
Declined
- Michael A. Battle, former Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys and former United States Attorney for the Western District of New York[9]
- Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., District Attorney of Richmond County and nominee for Attorney General in 2010[10]
- Michael J. Garcia, former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Randy Mastro, attorney and former chief of staff to Rudy Giuliani[11]
- Marc Mukasey, attorney and stepson of former United States Attorney General Michael Mukasey[11]
- Dennis Vacco, former attorney general[12]
Major third parties
Besides the Democratic and Republican parties, the Conservative, Green, Independence and Working Families parties all enjoyed automatic ballot access as qualified New York parties in 2014.
Conservative
Candidates
Nominated
- John P. Cahill, Republican nominee
Green
Candidates
Nominated
- Ramon Jimenez, attorney from The Bronx[13]
Independence
Candidates
Nominated
- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
Working Families
Candidates
Nominated
- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
Minor third parties
Any political party other than the six qualified New York parties (Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Green, Independence and Working Families) was required to petition their way onto the ballot.
Libertarian
Candidates
Nominated
- Carl Person, nominee for Attorney General in 2010, candidate for President of the United States in 2012 and Reform Party nominee for Mayor of New York City in 2013[14]
Stop Common Core
Candidates
Nominated
- John P. Cahill, Republican nominee[7]
Women's Equality
Candidates
Nominated
- Eric Schneiderman, incumbent attorney general
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Eric Schneiderman (D) | John P. Cahill (R) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena College | October 16–20, 2014 | 748 | ± 3.6% | 55% | 35% | 0% | 10% |
| Siena College | September 18–23, 2014 | 809 | ± 3.4% | 50% | 34% | — | 15% |
| In The Field◆ | September 8, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 36.8% | 29.7% | — | 33.5% |
| Quinnipiac University | August 14–17, 2014 | 1,034 | ± 3.1% | 51% | 29% | 1% | 19% |
| Siena College | July 13–16, 2014 | 774 | ± 3.5% | 53% | 31% | 0% | 16% |
| Siena College | June 8–12, 2014 | 835 | ± 3.4% | 52% | 27% | 0% | 22% |
| Quinnipiac University | May 14–19, 2014 | 1,129 | ± 2.9% | 46% | 27% | 1% | 25% |
◆ Internally-conducted poll for the John P. Cahill campaign that he was required by state law to publish after parts of the poll were revealed in a fundraising appeal.
Results
| Attorney General election in New York, 2014[15] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | Eric T. Schneiderman | 1,790,006 | 45.6% | ||
| Working Families | Eric T. Schneiderman | 169,037 | 4.3% | ||
| Independence/ Women's Equality | Eric T. Schneiderman | 110,913 | 2.8% | ||
| Total | Eric T. Schneiderman (incumbent) | 2,069,956 | 52.7% | ||
| Republican | John P. Cahill | 1,261,641 | 32.1% | ||
| Conservative/ Stop-Common-Core | John P. Cahill | 277,349 | 7.1% | ||
| Total | John P. Cahill | 1,538,990 | 39.2% | ||
| Green | Ramon Jimenez | 80,813 | 2.1% | ||
| Libertarian | Carl E. Person | 24,746 | 0.6% | ||
| Blank | 207,771 | 5.3% | |||
| Void | 1,683 | 0.04% | |||
| Totals | 3,924,990 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic Hold | |||||