1994 New York Attorney General election

1994 New York Attorney General Election

←  1990 November 8, 1994 1998  →

Nominee Dennis Vacco Karen Burstein Party Republican Democratic Alliance Parties Conservative Tax Cut Now Liberal Popular vote 2,294,528 2,206,188 Percentage 49.28% 47.38%

County results Vacco:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Burstein:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

New York Attorney General before election G. Oliver Koppell Democratic Elected New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco Republican

The 1994 New York Attorney General election took place on November 8, 1994. Republican nominee Dennis Vacco narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Karen Burstein. As of 2023 ^[update] , this is the last time a Republican was elected Attorney General of New York.

Background

Attorney General Robert Abrams ran for United States Senate in 1992 but narrowly lost to incumbent Republican Al D'Amato. Abrams announced his resignation from the office of attorney general on September 8, 1993, to take effect on December 31.

The New York State Legislature appointed G. Oliver Koppel, an Assemblyman from the Bronx, to fill the office of Attorney General until a successor was elected at the regularly scheduled 1994 election. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Karen Burstein, New York Family Court judge and former State Senator from Mineola ^[1]
• Charles J. Hynes, former Kings County District Attorney ^[1]
• G. Oliver Koppel, incumbent Attorney General and former State Assemblyman from the Bronx ^[1]
• Eliot Spitzer, former Manhattan prosecutor ^[1]

General election

Candidates

• Karen Burstein, New York Family Court judge and former State Senator from Mineola (Democratic and Liberal)
• Daniel Conti (Libertarian)
• James Hartman (Independence)
• Nancy Rosenstock (Socialist Workers)
• Alfred Skidmore (Right to Life)
• Dennis Vacco, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York (Republican and Conservative)

Campaign

In the final month of the campaign, Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari publicly remarked that Burstein would be unqualified for office because she was a lesbian.

Results

General Election Results ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Vacco	1,988,567	42.71%
	Conservative	Dennis Vacco	305,961	6.57%
	Total	Dennis Vacco	2,294,528	49.28%
	Democratic	Karen Burstein	2,097,083	45.04%
	Liberal	Karen Burstein	109,105	2.34%
	Total	Karen Burstein	2,206,188	47.38%
	Right to Life	Alfred Skidmore	85,649	1.84%
	Independence	James Hartman	37,500	0.81%
	Libertarian	Daniel Conti	19,202	0.41%
	Socialist Workers	Nancy Rosenstock	13,416	0.29%
Majority			88,340	1.9%
Turnout			4,656,483
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. Fisher, Ian (September 14, 1994). "THE 1994 CAMPAIGN: ATTORNEY GENERAL; Burstein Wins Close Victory Against Koppell in Primary". The New York Times . pp. B6. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
2. "1994 Election Results | New York State Board of Elections". www.elections.ny.gov. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

See also

Preceded by 1990

New York Attorney General election 1994

Succeeded by 1998