Looks like NY State Republican chair Ed Cox's plan to have Democrat-turned-Republican Steve Levy run for Governor (foiled, by the nomination of Rick Lazio) has angered national Republican Chairman Michael Steele. The Daily News reports, "The National GOP is funneling cash for local elections directly to county leaders - a step never before taken in New York," which is a "clear snub" and a "direct slap at Cox." Cox admitted he was surprised, but told the News that he and Steele "spent a very warm six hours" together last week, "[Steele] put his arm around me in a very warm way and told me now that the convention was over he was looking forward to us working together." more ›

Yesterday, the NY State Republican Party nominated Rick Lazio to face off against Andrew Cuomo in this fall's race for the governor. However, it seems the process has caused problems for the GOP, vs. the Democrats. The Post reports one consultant as saying, "This whole thing was a disaster. Politically, it was a disaster. Organizationally, it was a disaster. It was a train wreck." more ›

Rush & Molloy are hearing from people unhappy with NY State Republican chairman Ed Cox, who is also known as Richard Nixon's son-in-law and the guy who wants a former Democrat to be on the Republican ticket for governor, and have a theory about why it's been so hard to find a Republican to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Cox blockers suspect that "Cox wants to 'throw' the race so he and wife Tricia's 31-year-old son, Christopher, can run against Gilly two years from now." more ›

Party-switching Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy wants to "take a sledgehammer to Albany and knock it to pieces and then rebuild it from scratch"—which is exactly what the mustachioed man is doing to the Republican Party. Since he entered the race, Levy has created a major rift among Republicans, according to Politico. Levy won the backing of state GOP chairman Ed Cox, but former Gov. Pataki and former Mayor Giuliani are backing Rick Lazio's Republican bid. Insiders say Levy will emphasize his fiscal responsibility and hard-line stance against immigration to run as a "Scott Brown-type candidate, not as a moderate," but his opponent is already trying to depict him as a liberal for supporting tax increases and calling President Obama's stimulus package "manna from heaven." more ›

Rudy Giuliani has been reportedly thinking about running for governor next year, but other state Republicans think he might be better suited to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Now the top NY State GOP figure—new party chair Ed "son-in-law of Richard Nixon" Cox—agrees, saying Giuliani "could be very effective in running for the Senate...I think he would have a better chance of winning that race," especially if Andrew Cuomo runs on the Democratic ticket. more ›

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Ah, Jeannine Pirro. She's finally finally abandoned her plans to run against Hillary Clinton for the junior Senate seat, after much turmoil within her campaign. Pirro's statement said, "Today, after consultation with the leaders of my party, particularly Gov. Pataki, Sen. [Joe] Bruno and Chairman [Stephen] Minarik, and leaders of the Conservative and independent parties, I have decided that my law-enforcement background better qualifies me for a race for attorney general than a race for U.S. Senate." In other words, "The boys are making me run for the booby prize!" But she'll probably do much better in that race (we can't even remember who we've heard is running for the Democratic side, as Eliot Spitzer is going to run for Governor), if her husband doesn't try to sabotage her campaign from the inside again. What's hilarious is that the NY State GOP now has to figure out who should run against La Clinton; one of the early challengers, Ed Cox, dropped out because Pataki was supporting Pirro, but now Cox might have to be convinced to come back in. more ›

With the start of the 2006 calendar year weeks away, the wrangling for governor will be more earnest, but right now, the troubles are within the state's Republican party. New York magazine has a fun guide to GOP rivalries and backstabbing that helps elucidate the situation, though Ed Cox is nowhere to be seen (Cox is rumored to be another GOP choice, instead of Westchester DA Jeannine Pirro, to run against Hillary Clinton). The NY Times has a feature about Pataki's problems, with one anonymous Democrat suggesting that the state will be controlled by Democratic Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (a Republican!), which sounds scary to us. more ›

More trouble for Westchester DA Jeannine Pirro's four month bid to run against Hillary Clinton in 2006: She has to chat with Governor Pataki to "weigh her options." Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said Pirro should get out of hte race and run for Attorney General instead. Scuttlebutt is that Ed Cox, Richard Nixon's son-in-law, will return to the Senate race, after having been shushed out by Pataki earlier this year. What's hilarious is that Pirro's own advisers may be the ones trying to move her to the Attorney General's case, since she'd probably get thrashed by Clinton. more ›

Yesterday in Manhattan, Westchester D.A. Jeanine Pirro made her first lengthy remarks outlining her goals - and attacking Senator Hillary Clinton - and also got fouled up in the middle of her speech when she spent 32 seconds searching for page 10 of her speech and couldn't discuss tax deficit issues. That intern who collated the speech is totally fired! And at a speech in Albany, a Pirro campaign aide apparently didn't plug in a device that fed sound to TV and radio coverage. D'oh! The Daily News says the campaign of Ed Cox, son-in-law of Richard Nixon and another person eyeying the Republican Senate nomination, called her a flip-flopper because Pirro suddenly announced she was against late-term abortions. Hey, did Cox's folks need to consult the Republican Party Style Guide, because we thought flip-flopper was only a word Republicans called Democrats. Anyway, the a new Marist poll shows that the appearance of Pirro turns Clinton's 64% in pre-Pirro days to 50%, but Pirro would still trail by a ton, with only 22%. more ›