Letitia James’ re-election cushion shrinks as little-known challenger starts turning heads

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a top rival of President Donald Trump, is losing ground to her Republican challenger even though most New Yorkers still know little about who she is running against. James’ lead over GOP challenger Saritha Komatireddy fell by five points between August and September, according to a newly released poll from Siena University. Though the Democrat’s lead is slipping, it’s still commanding, with James leading Komatireddy by a margin of 52% to 39%. Republicans nationally are facing difficult polling in several key races, including competitive contests in traditionally Republican-leaning states such as Alaska, Texas and Ohio. Against that backdrop, New York Republicans holding roughly steady or improving modestly in Siena’s polling represents a relative bright spot. LETITIA JAMES HAMMERED AFTER NY MEDICAID FRAUD UNIT FUNDING FROZEN OVER INEFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT The New York governor’s race is within single digits, with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP nominee, trailing incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul 50% to 41%, according to Siena’s latest poll. The nine-point margin is little changed from August, when Hochul led 49% to 39%. "New York Attorney General Letitia James leads her opponent by 13 points in this poll. This double-digit margin reflects voters’ trust in her record of taking on crime rings, corporations, and bad actors who look to scam, harm, and take advantage of New Yorkers," a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "New Yorkers know Attorney General James has and will continue to fight for them." The margin of error in Siena’s September poll is about four percentage points, meaning the five-point narrowing in James’ lead should be interpreted cautiously rather than as definitive evidence of a shift in the race. LEE CARTER: THE SUMMER POLLS MISSED THE POINT: VOTERS ARE MOVING — AND THE MIDTERMS BEGIN Komatireddy is a former federal prosecutor and Harvard Law graduate who clerked for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. With a little more than a month until Election Day, two-thirds of likely New York voters say they either don’t know who Komatireddy is or don’t possess enough information about her to have an opinion. The Republican’s low name recognition shows that her campaign has yet to make her widely known to voters with Election Day approaching. It could also, however, signal that she has room to grow her support. TRUMP'S LAWYERS PUT DEM AG ON NOTICE FOR TARGETING HIS FAMILY IN NY FRAUD FIGHT: 'CANNOT STAND' James and Trump have been longtime political and legal adversaries, with James’ office bringing a civil fraud case that led to a judge ordering Trump and his companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines before a state appeals court later vacated the monetary award while leaving the fraud findings in place. After Republicans came uncharacteristically close to winning the Empire State’s governor’s mansion in 2022, losing by a margin of 53% to 47%, GOP leaders have seen winning the state as a way to strike a massive psychological blow against the Democratic Party. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP The Komatireddy campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.