| Election Name: | 2014 New York Attorney General election |
| Country: | New York |
| Flag Image: | Flag of New York (1909–2020).svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2010 New York Attorney General election |
| Previous Year: | 2010 |
| Next Election: | 2018 New York Attorney General election |
| Next Year: | 2018 |
| Election Date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Image1: | File:Eric Schneiderman-Tony West-DOJ2012 (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Eric Schneiderman |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Alliance1: | Working Families Party |
| Popular Vote1: | 2,069,956 |
| Percentage1: | 52.7% |
| Nominee2: | John P. Cahill |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Alliance2: | Conservative Party of New York State |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,538,990 |
| Percentage2: | 39.2% |
| Map Size: | 305px |
| Attorney General | |
| Before Election: | Eric Schneiderman |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Eric Schneiderman |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
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.
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]
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.
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.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | class=small | Sample size | class=small | Margin of error | Eric Schneiderman (D) | John P. Cahill (R) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siena College | October 16–20, 2014 | 748 | ± 3.6% | align=center | 55% | 35% | 0% | 10% | |
| Siena College | September 18–23, 2014 | 809 | ± 3.4% | align=center | 50% | 34% | — | 15% | |
| In The Field◆ | September 8, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | align=center | 36.8% | 29.7% | — | 33.5% | |
| Quinnipiac University | August 14–17, 2014 | 1,034 | ± 3.1% | align=center | 51% | 29% | 1% | 19% | |
| Siena College | July 13–16, 2014 | 774 | ± 3.5% | align=center | 53% | 31% | 0% | 16% | |
| Siena College | June 8–12, 2014 | 835 | ± 3.4% | align=center | 52% | 27% | 0% | 22% | |
| Quinnipiac University | May 14–19, 2014 | 1,129 | ± 2.9% | align=center | 46% | 27% | 1% | 25% |
| 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 | ||||||