The Democrats vying to be the state's next attorney general may be stepping up to take on the president in his hometown.
New York's attorney general is seen as one of the top legal positions in the country, especially given the office's numerous legal challenges to the Trump Foundation and administration. This year's campaign was supposed to be a home run for Eric Schneiderman, the 63-year-old Democrat who made headlines for going after Wall Street head honchos, big banks and Donald Trump. But, he abruptly resigned in May after multiple women accused him of physical assault. Since then, a swell of candidates have emerged for the position.
Here's what you need to know about the race.
What does the attorney general do?
The attorney general is seen as the public face of the office and communicates many of the details of its cases to the public. But, as the top lawyer in New York, the attorney general is still responsible for overseeing dozens of attorneys and hundreds of cases.
Some recent attorney generals, such as Eliot Spitzer, made a national name for themselves by using the office to pursue aggressive litigation. Before his fall from grace due to resigning the governor's office after he was revealed to be a client of a prostitution ring, Spitzer earned the nickname "The Sheriff of Wall Street" by forcing major financial firms to shell out billions in fines for defrauding investors.
Andrew Cuomo, who served one term as attorney general before he was elected governor, strengthened his political career with some significant prosecutions out of the office, including a pay-to-play scheme involving millions of dollars of the state's public pension funds. The resulting investigation by his office resulted in financier Steven Rattner agreeing to pay millions of dollars in restitution to the state.
Who's in office now?
Schneiderman's resignation led to a rush of political maneuvering. The New York state legislature had to appoint an acting attorney general to immediately take over the position. Then, it interviewed more than a dozen candidates to serve out for the rest of the year. State lawmakers decided Barbara Underwood, who had been serving as acting attorney general, would stay in the position until the end of 2018.
But since the post is up for reelection this year, New Yorkers have to select their permanent attorney general. And it will be a new face, as Underwood is not running to keep her position beyond 2018, indicating that she is not inclined to push for public office.
Who's running?
Four people are vying to become the Democratic nominee in November. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James is considered the frontrunner.
She quickly vaulted to the top of the field, winning support from the state Democratic Party and Cuomo, while piling up endorsements and campaign cash.
Law professor Zephyr Teachout gave Cuomo a scare in the 2014 governor's race, and is now hoping to ride the progressive wave embodied by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York's newest political star, who has offered her endorsement.
"In different ways, all of the other candidates — the three candidates for attorney general — have close ties to the establishment. And I am, as I was four years ago, committed to bringing a new kind of politics to New York," Teachout said.
Then there's Leecia Eve, who boasts a varied resume that includes work as a litigator, as a staffer to Senators Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, and an economic development post in the Cuomo administration.
"This is not something that you talk about in a classroom. You need someone who is experienced, who's qualified, who has a proven track record of fighting in the trenches for social justice," Eve said.
Eve also has some experience with political campaigns, mostly notably running for lieutenant governor in 2006 before bowing out once Spitzer chose David Paterson to be his running mate.
Hudson Valley Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, who lost to Cuomo in the Democratic primary for the attorney general's office 12 years ago, is another formidable candidate.
He's sitting on $4 million in contributions, most of it raised for his congressional reelection campaign.
While James has shored up much of the institutional support, a poll in July showed that the race is unsettled. A plurality of registered Democrats, 42 percent, is undecided, while James polled at 26 percent, Maloney at 15 percent, Teachout close behind with 12 percent, and Eve in the low single digits.
Democratic voters will head to the polls on Thursday, Sept. 13 to cast their ballots.
What about Trump?
A recent development in the role of the attorney general's office has been its clashes with President Trump. In the form of more than 100 lawsuits, Schneiderman often used the office to clash with him, going after the native-New Yorker on the travel ban, the administration's approach to the environment, and immigration, and he sued Trump University before the president won the White House.
Some of the Democratic candidates to replace the former attorney general are looking maintain the legal opposition, speaking about positioning the office as a check on Trump because of his ties to New York.
Whoever is elected to the position in November may end up having to address larger legal questions over potential Trump pardons. Schneiderman had argued earlier this year that New York should close a legal loophole that could bar the state from prosecuting anyone pardoned by Trump. But New York's top lawyer may end up playing a waiting game regardless.
Underwood said the office will not "interfere" with the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections. Her successor, a Democrat or Republican, is not expected to change direction.
What happens after the primary?
The primary winner will face Republican Keith Wofford, a partner at the law firm Ropes & Gray in the city and the first African-American Republican nominee for attorney general, in the general election Nov. 6. While the candidates' legal resumes are expected to be a major factor when New Yorkers decide who to vote for, Republicans haven't won a statewide race since 2002.
Watch our debate between the four contenders in the Democratic primary for state attorney general on Tuesday, August 28 at John Jay College. Political anchor Errol Louis will co-moderate the debate.