Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) weighed in on the 2026 New York attorney general election in favor of Saritha Komatireddy, issuing a scathing rebuke of incumbent Letitia James.
The centrist Republican congressman backed former prosecutor Komatireddy, who is one of two Republicans running to unseat James. Michael Henry, who ran against James in 2022, backed out of the race in January, leaving Komatireddy to take on attorney Khurram Dara in the GOP primary.
“New York deserves an Attorney General who enforces the law—not one who abuses it. @TishJames has turned the Attorney General’s office into a partisan weapon and is the most corrupt AG in America. Saritha Komatireddy will restore the trust we need in our judicial system,” Lawler said in his endorsement.
James has become a high-profile adversary of the Trump administration and New York Republicans, as they have accused her of abuse of office. James’s reputation is the result of her multiple filings against President Donald Trump throughout her tenure as the state’s top prosecutor. After the Department of Justice opened a mortgage fraud investigation into James, two grand juries refused to indict her.
Komatireddy, a former Eastern District of New York prosecutor who also served as the chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration, has prosecuted members of drug cartels, al Qaeda, and ISIS. She is running a campaign focused on public safety with the slogan “If New York isn’t safe, nothing else matters. Saritha will focus on safety so you can focus on everything else.”
“She’s a principled, tough, and fearless advocate for the rule of law who will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to the office. @sarithaforny will end the corruption in Albany, and put New Yorkers first —and I’m proud to endorse her campaign,” Lawler said.
In the 2022 attorney general race, James defeated Henry, a New York City commercial litigation attorney, by just over 9 percentage points, a swing further to the right from 2018. In her first run in 2018, James defeated Republican challenger Keith Wofford by just over 27 percentage points in the general election.
NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FROZEN GATEWAY TUNNEL FUNDING
The primary for this election will be held on June 23.
Komatireddy’s other endorsements include Maggie’s List and former Republican New York Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco.