Free Republic

A new Siena poll (810 RVs, 3/15-18, MoE +/- 3.4%) is the first in New York to test the potential Republican primary for governor between former Rep. Rick Lazio (R) and Steve Levy, the Suffolk County Executive and soon-to-be-former Democrat. Lazio leads Levy 45-16 in an initial test, with 40 percent undecided. When Republican voters are informed of Levy's political affiliation, Lazio's lead expands to 60-19, with 22 percent undecided. Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, continues to be the early heavy favorite to ultimately win the seat in November.

A day after being rejected by his own party’s chairman, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio secured the all-important backing Saturday from State Conservative Party leaders. The Conservative Party Executive Committee met Saturday in Brooklyn, where it recommended the former Long Island congressman as the party’s candidate for governor. The Lazio endorsement still needs to be ratified at the Conservative Party convention this spring, said Michael R. Long, State Conservative Party chairman. “He’s got a lot of support among the leaders of the party,” Long said by phone after the meeting. “He’s been friends of the party for a long time,...

Former Gov. George Pataki, perhaps the most popular Republican in New York, is endorsing Rick Lazio in his GOP bid for governor this year. Pataki is scheduled to make the endorsement Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan. Lazio is a former congressman from Long Island who has collected endorsements from most Republican county chairmen and many Conservative Party leaders around the state. Lazio spokesman Barney Keller says Pataki's backing is another indication Lazio has support to, as he put it, sweep clean the dysfunction in Albany. Pataki, who retired as governor four years ago, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate...

Key Republicans, including former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, are urging Rick Lazio to drop his long-shot bid for governor and challenge embattled -- and vulnerable -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, The Post has learned. D'Amato, who once worked closely with Lazio during his tenure as a Long Island congressman, told Lazio in a face-to-face meeting late last month that "you can't win for governor, but you can beat Gillibrand." "He told Lazio that [Attorney General Andrew] Cuomo is going to be the Democratic nominee for governor and that if he finally wants to have a chance of winning a statewide election, he...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- The wave of voter anger aimed at incumbents in last Tuesday's off-year elections is just what an against-all-odds campaign in New York's governor's race needed. Two weeks ago, Republican candidate Rick Lazio was quietly running an uphill campaign for the 2010 race. He faced a rising Democratic wave in New York, with every statewide office held by Democrats, rising party enrollment and a Democrat in the White House. Lazio even called his effort "the little engine that could." But the Election Day vote that ended the tenures of suburban county executives, legislators and two governors gave...

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009 Lazio to Enter N.Y. Governor's Race By SUZANNE SATALINE Rick Lazio, a former Republican congressman from Long Island, N.Y., will announce on Tuesday that he's running for governor, a spokesman said. Mr. Lazio, who served four terms in Congress, chose in 2000 to run for Senate. He lost to Hillary Clinton, who is now secretary of state. Mr. Lazio, 51, is on leave from J.P. Morgan Chase where he is a managing director. He will seek to unseat Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat who is struggling in the polls. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican,...

Former U.S. Congressman Rick Lazio said today that will run for governor of New York. Lazio, a Republican, will make a formal announcement on Sept. 21 in Albany. He will then spend the week traveling around the state, meeting with voters. Lazio, 51, served part of Long Island in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993-2001. In 2000, he unsuccessfully challenged Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race to fill one of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats. Lazio is currently a managing director at J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), focusing on client relations and public policy issues. He lives downstate....

Former Long Island congressman Rick Lazio is apparently running for governor of New York. > http://lazio.com/