NEW YORK: Openly Gay Rep. Sean Maloney To Run For State AG And US House Reelection Simultaneously

The New York Daily News reports:

Upstate Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney on Wednesday will formally announce he’s running for state attorney general at the same time he’s seeking re-election to Congress. Maloney said he will try to petition his way onto the Sept. 13 Democratic primary ballot for attorney general. He said if he wins the nomination, he will immediately decline his nomination for Congress.

Some have questioned whether such a move is legal. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Nassau County) had considered running for attorney general but ultimately decided she’d have to legally give up her bid for reelection to do so.

“I am completely comfortable and confident that I can run this race,” Maloney said. “What the law prevents is being nominated for two offices at once. I’m nominated for Congress currently. If I’m the nominee for attorney general, I will have to decline the congressional nomination.”

Maloney, who in 2006 unsuccessfully ran for attorney general against now-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would be the first openly gay person to hold statewide office in New York. Maloney has been with his husband for 26 years and they have three children.

Maloney would succeed former state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned last month in a sex scandal. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James won an automatic spot on the September primary ballot during the state Democratic convention.