Saritha Komatireddy narrows Letitia James’s lead to 13 points in New York poll

Republican Saritha Komatireddy has narrowed New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lead to 13 percentage points, according to a Siena poll. However, James retains a substantial financial advantage, while Komatireddy faces a significant challenge in building voter recognition before election day.

Washington: Indian-American Republican Saritha Komatireddy has cut New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lead to 13 points in the latest public poll, but remains badly outgunned on money and name recognition with early voting set to open on October 24.

A Siena poll of likely voters conducted September 11-17 put James at 52 per cent and Komatireddy at 39 per cent, down from 54-36 in August. No newer public poll of the race has been found.

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Komatireddy’s favourability stood at 17-12, and more than two-thirds of likely voters had either never heard of her or did not know enough to have an opinion.

James’s lead in New York City shrank to 62-26 from 71-20.

“Unless Komatireddy can find a way to get more known to likely voters in the next few weeks, it appears that James is in a strong position heading into the home stretch of the campaign,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.

James had about $6.2 million in cash, including about $3.5 million in public matching funds, against about $323,000 for Komatireddy, according to state filings reported by the New York Law Journal on October 5.

Komatireddy’s state filings through July 11 list Geetha Komatireddy as her top contributor at $397,412, followed by the New York Republican State Committee at $50,000. Donors who gave $18,000 each include Vivek Ramaswamy.

A super PAC is trying to close the gap. Strong and Safe New York, funded by Knicks owner James Dolan, retired casino mogul Steve Wynn and others, has announced a “seven-figure investment” for Komatireddy, including suburban billboards, the New York Post reported.

“New York finally has a chance to restore safety and security by electing Saritha Komatireddy as the next Attorney General,” the group’s spokesperson Carson Steelman said.

“Saritha Komatireddy is Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate, and now his deep-pocketed allies are bankrolling her campaign,” a James campaign spokesperson said.

The group’s state filings through July 11 showed no spending.

In their only debate, on Spectrum News NY1 on October 8, Komatireddy went on the attack.

“For the last eight years, you’ve had a political hack sitting in the chair using our taxpayer money for her political purposes,” she said.

She has since challenged James to more debates, but none has been scheduled.

A former federal prosecutor and former chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Trump-endorsed Komatireddy clerked for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

New York has 6 million active registered Democrats to 2.8 million Republicans, and no Republican has won statewide since 2002.

Early voting runs from October 24 to November 1, ahead of the November 3 election, according to the state Board of Elections.