NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 New York Attorney General Letitia James suspended her campaign for governor on Thursday, saying she will run for reelection to her current\u2026<\/b>
\nNEW YORK (AP) \u2014 New York Attorney General Letitia James suspended her campaign for governor Thursday, saying she will run for reelection to her current position to \u201cfinish the job\u201d amid numerous ongoing investigations, including one into former President Donald Trump. James, a Democrat, had announced in late October that she was running for governor, two months after a sexual harassment investigation she oversaw led former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. She had been expected to be a strong challenger against Gov. Kathy Hochul for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in an increasingly crowded field. James ended her campaign for governor the same day it was reported she was seeking to have Trump sit for a Jan.7 deposition in an ongoing civil probe into his business practices. \u201cI have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general,\u201d James, a Democrat, said in a statement. \u201cThere are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job. I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do.\u201d James,63, is the first woman elected as New York\u2019s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role. Had she been elected governor, James would have been the first Black person voted into the role and the first Black female governor in the U.S. New York\u2019s only Black governor, David Paterson, didn\u2019t run for election after taking over in 2007 when Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a sex scandal. Earlier on Thursday, James\u2019 office canceled a planned event on Long Island. Since announcing her campaign in October, James held few campaign events or news conferences and mostly stuck to her official calendar as attorney general. In recent weeks, she publicly called for Hochul to take more aggressive measures, like imposing a statewide mask mandate, to fight rising COVID-19 cases. Several recent polls showed Hochul holding a double-digit lead over James, but it was early in the campaign with ample time to close that gap. Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University, said Hochul\u2019s moves to lock up support may have played a role in James\u2019 calculation about whether to keep running. \u201cKathy Hochul has been very aggressive these past few months shoring up endorsements and essentially the donor class of New York state. And it\u2019s easier to do that as a sitting incumbent,\u201d Greer said. Since she became attorney general in 2019, James\u2019 office filed dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal policies on immigration, the environment and other matters. Her office would not comment Thursday on the investigation \u2014 now stretching more than two years \u2014 that involves an examination of whether Trump\u2019s company misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets. James also filed a lawsuit accusing National Rifle Association leaders of financial mismanagement \u2014 seeking to shut down the gun-rights organization \u2014 and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from companies involved in the opioid industry. James\u2019 decision to run for governor so soon after overseeing the investigation that led to Cuomo\u2019s exit reinforced feelings among his allies that the probe was politically motivated \u2014 an assertion James dismissed. Both the governor\u2019s office and the attorney general\u2019s office are on the ballot in 2022. \u201cAll I can say is, I respect her tremendously. Always have,\u201d Hochul told reporters Thursday afternoon. She praised the work James has been doing as attorney general: \u201cThis is a very bad day for Donald Trump and the NRA.\u201d In addition to Hochul, James faced a primary race for governor that included U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who represents Long Island, and Jumaane Williams, who serves as a citizen ombudsman in his elected office of New York City Public Advocate. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is also expected to enter the race. James, Williams and de Blasio all have a political base in Brooklyn, which may have left the three of them dividing up that support and individually weaker as they tried to take on Hochul\u2019s backing in upstate and western New York. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a state assembly member and the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, issued a statement praising James and endorsing Hochul shortly after James announced she was dropping out. \u201cI am confident that Hochul will be the best choice to lead our state forward through the recovery, and she will have the support of Brooklyn behind her as she continues to blaze a path as our first female governor,\u201d Bichotte Hermelyn said. New York State Democratic Chair Jay S. Jacobs, who previously endorsed Hochul, said he supported James running for attorney general and said she put \u201cthe Democratic Party over her own interests and has a deep and genuine concern for what was best for the people of our State.\u201d James\u2019 reelection as attorney general isn\u2019t guaranteed. So far, at least four other Democrats are running in the state primary: Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, former Congressional lawyer Daniel Goldman, former state financial services superintendent Maria Vullo and state assembly member Clyde Vanel. Other candidates were said to be considering a run, buoyed by the prospect of James seeking higher office \u2014 now moot. ___ This story has been corrected to report James is 63, not 62. Copyright \u00a9 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.<\/p>\n