A unified state GOP waits as potential candidates explore

Note: This story appeared in Wednesday’s edition of the Times Union.

State Republican Chairman Ed Cox preached party unity on Tuesday following the GOP’s biennial reorganizational meeting, declaring that “we’ve never been as united as we are as a party now going forward.” 

State GOP Chair Ed Cox speaks with reporters at the Capitol Tuesday April 4, 2017 in Albany, NY. (John Carl D’Annibale / Times Union)

When party officials will have a single 2018 gubernatorial candidate to unify behind is less certain.

Cox expressed excitement in speaking with reporters following the meeting at the Radisson Hotel on Wolf Road about the candidates lining up for a shot at the state’s top elected office. Rob Astorino, the Westchester County executive and 2014 candidate; Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro; top Republican lawmakers Brian Kolb and John DeFrancisco; and businessman Harry Wilson, a 2010 candidate for comptroller, all have either put out feelers about a run or at the very least haven’t dispelled the notion they may seek the nomination. 

Cox, who was re-elected to a fifth two-year term Tuesday, said the ideal time for candidates to make a decision about a bid is between now and January. That’s months ahead of when Astorino formally declared his 2014 bid and began his fight for name recognition against incumbent Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a state that leans heavily to the left based on enrollment.

Despite the wide-open field, Cox expressed little concern about a potential primary for the Republican nomination like in 2010, when Carl Paladino emerged as the nominee after a bruising battle with the party establishment, which backed Rick Lazio.

“At the moment we’ve got a number of good candidates,” he said. “I think it’s going to sort itself out as we go through this.”

The chairman added that party leaders statewide “know what’s at stake here.”

“They know that if we do not win the governorship, it will be very difficult for us to hold on to the state Senate,” he said. “That leads to in the end New York state ending up like Illinois.”

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