Saritha Komatireddy is among the Indian-origin candidates contesting the US midterm elections on November 3. A former assistant attorney in the Eastern District of New York, she is the Republican nominee for New York attorney general and will challenge two-time incumbent Letitia James, the Democratic Party nominee.
Among her prominent backers is US President Donald Trump, who nominated Komatireddy for a federal judgeship in the Eastern District of New York in May 2020, during his first term in office. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City shaped her decision to pursue a career in law, with a focus on prosecuting terrorists and protecting national security, according to Komatireddy. 9/11 changed my life. From 2023 to 2024, she served as chief of staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under then-President Joe Biden.
He came here for the same reason many New Yorkers’ families come here: work hard, dream big and have a shot at achieving your dreams,” she said. I chose law school to prosecute terrorists, to protect New York and America,” she said in her campaign video. Komatireddy spent more than a decade prosecuting cases involving leaders of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Mexican drug cartels, according to her campaign website.
“My dad is from a small village in India that had no running water, and he left India when it was a socialist country. “My first week in college, terrorists attacked New York. As a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, she handled high-profile cases involving international terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, fraud and foreign public corruption.