Rick Lazio

"I'm going to be the Conservative and the Republican candidate," said gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio, who yesterday received the endorsement of the state Conservative Party. When asked what he thinks of Long Island executive Steve Levy’s recent announcement that he’ll defect from the Democratic party to vie for the Republican nomination, he said “I am not worried about him,” but there’s reason to think he should be. For Lazio—who’s short on funds and quiet on the issues—the endorsement could give a boost to a campaign without much oomph. Just as easily it could be taken away.

The important vote went 14-5 in favor of Lazio, reports the Times. Some stood firmly behind their man Lazio. "He's a real Republican," Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long said. "I don't know who the real Steve Levy is." Still others voiced strong dissent, claiming the endorsement—without which no candidate has ever won statewide, according to the Post—would be shifted elsewhere. “This means absolutely nothing,” said Bill Newmark, chairman of the Bronx Conservative Party, reminding attendees that party delegates, and not the executive committee, make the final decision. “The executive committee of the party cannot nominate our candidate.”

Though Lazio is the safe candidate, the News thinks that Levy, who’s already laid out a plan of attack, including “capping state spending, capping local taxes, switching state workers to a 401(k)-style pensions and getting rid of laws that make it impossible to negotiate taxpayer-friendly contracts” could trounce both him and the presumed Democratic nominee Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. “Levy's strategy is clear: He aims to be the Scott Brown of New York, a populist crusader who rides throw-out-the-bums anger into the governor's office,” wrote the tabloid in an editorial. “He is campaigning on a manifesto that by Albany standards is absolutely radical.”