Factbox: Schneiderman, candidate for NY attorney general

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eric Schneiderman, a New York state senator representing northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, is one of five Democratic candidates competing next Tuesday in the Democratic primary for New York attorney general. Some facts about him:

* Schneiderman, 55, an attorney in private practice, was elected to the state senate in 1998. He represented commuters in lawsuits against the Metropolitan Transit Authority, tenants trying to evict drug dealers from their buildings and women's health clinics harassed by anti-abortion groups.

* He grew up in New York City and attended Amherst College and Harvard Law School.

* In January, Schneiderman led a bipartisan committee whose investigation of his fellow Democrat, Senator Hiram Monserrate, prompted the chamber to expel Monserrate after he was convicted of a misdemeanor assault for hurting his girlfriend. The expulsion was also seen as a victory against corruption because Monserrate last year attempted a Senate coup when he and another Democrat temporarily joined the Republicans, giving them a majority.

* Spent two years as a deputy sheriff in rural Massachusetts.

* Schneiderman has been endorsed by The New York Times and many of the state's high-profile Democrats, making him the perceived front-runner and the target of his rivals, who ganged up against him in Tuesday's televised debate.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Joan Gralla; Editing by Kenneth Barry)