So the delegates voted and the results are final.
Rick Lazio – 59.6%
Steve Levy – 28.12%
Myers Mermel – 4.3%
Carl Paladino – 7.8%
Because Steve Levy is not a registered Republican, he needed 50% +1 in order to secure a Wilson Pakula for running as a republican. Chairman Ed Cox knew Lazio would get the nomination, so he had the vote called just to get it out of the way. After the vote, he followed it up by asking the GOP delegation on whether or not they were open to a primary to allow Levy a chance to run as a Republican. The chairman, as predicted, lost.
Yes (letting Levy on the ballot) – 42.7%
No (preventing him from getting on the ballot) – 57%
Rick Lazio, who was the first to jump in the race and tour the state in order to build his well-earned support addressed the room focusing on Andrew Cuomo. He came up with a new slogan: Reject the Status Cuomo.
Businessman Carl Paladino said he will petition to get on the ballot and since he has $10 million to spend on his campaign, he will most certainly be successful. Those of us who remember 1994 remember that George Pataki faced off in a primary for governor against Dick Rosenbaum and won with nearly 76% of the vote.
Steve Levy is considering his next step. He could quietly go back to Suffolk county and run his county or he could continue on with his war-chest and run on a third party line. He can't get the Democrat, Republican Independence or Conservative and it is unlikely he'll run on the Working Families line. There are many minor parties that are looking for ballot status. The Green Party, Liberal Party, Libertarian Party, Whig Party, Constitution Party are just some that exist and some have had ballot status in the past. Of course, many of these parties have an ideological view that isn't suitable for him. The Liberal and Whig parties are the only two that would welcome a Levy candidacy, in my opinion. He could also revive some no-name like the Freedom Party or the Tax Cuts Now Party.
If he does go the way of a third party and continues his endeavor, he should secure two lines, in my opinion, since both Cuomo and Lazio will have at least two lines.
There will be a lot more to report, but the GOP convention has one more day. We'd love to hear the Urban Elephants sound off on today's events.
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written by Behold a Pale Horse , June 02, 2010
Maybe Levy should run (if there's still time) as a Republican-Conservative against one of two Democrats (I think it's Bishop and Steve Israel) who represent Suffolk in Congress?
Would county leaders in Suffolk (in the Republican and Conservative parties) be open to that, or is Levy now damaged goods?
written by Insider , June 02, 2010
So Lazio gets to have his butt kicked in November.
Call me crazy, but I think Andrew Cuomo is unbeatable in his (Democratic) home (welfare) state of New York.
written by Frank Ammendolea , June 02, 2010
BAPH, it is highly unlikely - if not outright impossible - for Levy to run for either of those seats.
In the CD-1 race (Tim Bishop), there is a very contentious primary situation brewing, as well as a split between the Conservatives and GOP. The Republican race is between Chris Cox (son of Chairman Ed), Randy Altschuler (a wealthy businessman and endorsed candidate of the Cons), George Demos (an attorney allied with the Pataki/D'Amato faction) and the dark horse is Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick - the most conservative member of the NYS Assembly and a proven vote getter. If Fitzpatrick is able to get a Wilson-Pakula to run a Conservative Primary, and also run in the GOP primary, he can almost certainly unite the lines and beat Bishop. But there is a lot of soap opera that must be played out first. Levy has no chance of getting a Wilson-Pakula in that race with either the GOP or Cons.
Ditto in CD-2 (Steve Israel) where a fellow named John Gomez (who is a friend of Sean Hannity) has already been endorsed by both the Suffolk and Nassau GOP. But there is also a battle brewing in that race with a rival Republican who is likely to wage a nasty primary battle. Again, no chance that still Democrat Steve Levy qualifies to get involved.
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