Breaking News... King Quits AG Race

Charlie King dropped out of the race for New York state attorney general Tuesday morning. In a news conference that was to be attended by King and leading candidate Andrew Cuomo scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on the steps of City Hall, King was to endorse Cuomo, backing the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in his quest for the Democratic Party nomination for state attorney general on Primary Election Day next Tuesday. King worked with Cuomo at HUD and was Cuomo's running mate in Cuomo's bid for governor in 2002, but since then the two have had an adversarial relationship. Polls indicate that Cuomo is favored by voters over Mark Green, former city Public Advocate and commissioner of the city Department of Consumer Affairs.

Also at the news conference were Congressmember Charles Rangel and a number of prominent African American leaders, who were to announce the "United for Justice Coalition" to support Cuomo. King was the only black candidate in the attorney general's race. His name will still appear on the ballot, although he is no longer in the race for the attorney general nomination. He and Sean Patrick Maloney were considered to be long shots in the contest.