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Saritha Komatireddy isn't a household name for many New Yorkers. And that's too bad, because she could be your next state Attorney General.
We know all too well what we will get statewide by electing Letitia James as attorney general – more lawsuits that are so tinged by party politics that it's hard to discern whether or not the case makes sense. That happens, in part, because James has been smacked down by courts often enough in her attempts to fill her prior campaign pledges to make life hard on President Donald Trump that it's hard to tell where a case actually exists or if James is just pandering to her supporters.
In our view, that shouldn't be a question when it comes to the state's attorney. Let’s not forget the First Department Appellate Division throwing out a $464 million liability verdict against Trump and the Trump Organization in August 2025 that was ruled to violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Earlier this year James led a multi-state coalition of 19 attorneys general suing the Trump administration over executive orders giving Elon Musk’s DOGE access to federal payment systems that was dismissed by a federal judge.
James is also fond of saying the Attorney General’s office doesn’t have a hand in local criminal cases while backing Democratic Party-backed policies like bail reform, Raise the Age, decriminalization of minor offenses, cashless bail, discovery reform and others.
Komatireddy, on the other hand, has said during her campaign that she will try to chart a bipartisan path forward to fix New York’s bail system, including pushing reform that allows judges to consider someone’s dangerousness when considering bail. She would also use her office to help local prosecutors by sending attorneys to help with manpower and prosecutions.
The most striking difference between James and Komatireddy, however, is a willingness not to abandon fairness for political points. We have seen time and again that James is an attorney general who doesn't hide her opinions, whether those opinions are in regard to President Donald Trump or the Cornell University fraternity rape allegations. We need an attorney general who keeps their opinions to themselves and lets the law be their guide. As a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, Komatireddy has prosecuted high-profile cases involving international terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and foreign public corruption while arguing before federal courts, leading national security investigations and advising on matters of foreign affairs, criminal law, and cyber policy.
Prior to running for office, she has not been a tireless self-promoter. That's one reason so few people know of her work. Komatireddy is a lawyer – and a good one at that. We think she would make an outstanding attorney general for New York state.