Cuomo Beats Pirro in State Attorney General's Race

NEW YORK (AP) - Democrat Andrew Cuomo, pledging to go after government corruption and continue Eliot Spitzer's work as a crusader against corruption, resurrected his political career Tuesday by defeating Republican Jeanine Pirro in the race for attorney general.

The call for Mr. Cuomo was based on a number of factors, including voter turnout, previous voting patterns, and a statistical analysis of the vote from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

With 63 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Cuomo had 1,420,373 votes, or 60 percent, to Ms. Pirro's 896,608, or 38 percent.

Mr. Cuomo pledged to fight corruption on Wall Street, battle discrimination, protect the environment, take illegal guns off the streets and make state government more accountable.

"I will fight these fights against injustice with every breath in my body, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Mr. Cuomo said in his victory speech. "I will never back down. I will never give up. I will not be intimidated."

Ms. Pirro, acknowledging her loss, said her campaign was still a success.

"We fought the good fight, we presented the evidence, and the people have spoken," Pirro said in her concession speech. "They have rendered their verdict, and we accept it."

She said she called Mr. Cuomo to offer her congratulations.

"This race has been a success. Why? Because we talked about the issues that I fought for my whole life, fighting for the underdog ... never remaining silent in the face of injustice. And so tonight, we stand tall and proud and unbending in our honest defeat."