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Republicans Nominate Keith Wofford for NY Attorney General

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On Thursday, May 24, Keith Wofford, a lawyer in New York City, was nominated by the state’s Republican Party as their preferred candidate for attorney general.

The Buffalo native and graduate of Harvard Law school is currently the co-managing partner of the law firm Ropes & Gray’s New York City office. At the Republican state convention, which was held in Manhattan, Wofford won the nomination by defeating his contender Joe Holland.

If elected, Wofford says he will focus on fighting the major chronic problem of political corruption that has been plaguing the state.

He said, “I will put an end to it by going after public corruption wherever it leads and bring charges against those who violate the public trust, regardless of their title.”

On Wednesday, May 23, at the Democrat’s convention on Long Island, the party selected New York City Public Advocate Letitia James as their nomination for attorney general.

In November, a statewide election will decide whether James or Wofford will succeed Democrat Eric Schneiderman as New York’s attorney general. In the meantime, Barbara Underwood, who previously served as the Solicitor General of New York, became the Acting Attorney General on May 8, following her predecessor’s resignation. Underwood, who is the first woman to hold this position in the state, will fill it for the remainder of Schneiderman’s term.

On Monday, May 7, just hours after New York magazine published accounts by four women who alleged they were assaulted by Schneiderman, the Attorney General quickly announced his resignation, despite his denial of their accusations.

In his statement of resignation, Schneiderman said, “It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as attorney general for the people of the State of New York. In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I, therefore, resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”

Multiple women accused Schneiderman of nonconsensual physical violence. Many have avoided speaking to the wide cross section of the media out of fear that there would be pushback. Two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, have talked to The New Yorker on the record, according to Farrow’s report “because they feel that doing so could protect other women.”

By Charles Bernstein

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