Democrats nominated Letitia James, the New York City public advocate, for state attorney general on Thursday, putting her on track to become the first African-American woman elected to statewide office in New York.
James won with 40.5 percent of the vote, the Associated Press projected after 94 percent of precincts reporting.
In winning the nomination, James beat out three other Democrats, with law professor Zephyr Teachout winning 31.2 percent and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) winning 25 percent. Verizon Executive Leecia Eve ended a distant fourth.
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James will be the overwhelming favorite in November, when she will face Republican Keith Wofford, who did not face a primary challenge
Like the other Democratic candidates she beat in the primary, James has vowed to go after President Trump and his business interests in the state.
Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned in May amid allegations that he abused multiple women, had sued Trump University, the business mogul’s for-profit real estate training program, in 2013, alleging illegal business practices.
He later launched an investigation into the Trump Foundation and participated in a number of lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies as president.
Schneiderman’s successor, Barbara Underwood, filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Trump for alleged “improper and extensive political activity” and “self-dealing” by his now-defunct charitable organization, the Trump Foundation.
At a recent debate, James suggested that the attorney general’s office should be investigating the president on a wide range of issues, including about potential collusion between his campaign and Russia, which is already the subject of an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
“With respect to Donald Trump, we need to follow his money,” James said. “We need to find out where he’s laundered money, we need to find out whether he’s engaged in conspiracy and whether or not he’s colluded, not only with Putin, but also with China, as well.”