Biography
Andrea James is a former criminal defense attorney and advocate for incarcerated women and girls running as an independent. She spent two years in federal prison for wire fraud and was disbarred. In a statement on her website, she said people deserve affordable homes, good schools, universal child care, 'Medicare for All,' renewable energy and a 'public banking system that prioritizes people over profit.'[1]
James earned a law degree from Northeastern University and was later sentenced to two years in federal prison for wire fraud in 2010. She has written extensively about her time in prison.[1]
She founded Families for Justice as Healing, a Massachusetts nonprofit focused on ending the incarceration of women and girls, and is founder and executive director of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.[1][2] She is a Roxbury resident.[2]
James first declared a run for governor as a Democrat in March 2025 and changed her party affiliation to unenrolled in November 2025, announcing in January 2026 that she would run as an independent. To qualify for the November ballot she needed to collect 10,000 signatures.[1][2]
- 1.Criminal justice advocate Andrea James plans independent gubernatorial run · WBUR · 2026-01-05 News report
- 2.Gubernatorial candidate Andrea James visits Greenfield · Greenfield Recorder · 2026-05-19 News report
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.