State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long says that Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is going to run for governor, that he’s “ready” to back him, and that Donald Trump, who has flirted with entering the contest, will soon drop out.
“I’m ready to move out in front for him as soon he announces,” Long told The Post. “I believe Rob is going to be the Republican candidate, and I believe he’s the right candidate for this race.
“And I believe that once he announces, many of my [Conservative Party] leaders will rally around him,” continued Long, who said he discussed the race against Gov. Cuomo with Astorino over the weekend.
As for Trump, Long said the demand of the mega-builder star of TV’s “Apprentice” that Astorino drop out of the gubernatorial contest before he would agree to be the Republican candidate convinced him Trump isn’t serious about the race.
“If you’re strong enough to beat Andrew Cuomo, as you say, you should be strong enough to beat Astorino in a Republican primary, if necessary. I just don’t see Trump entering the race,’’ Long said.
Trump, whose potential candidacy has fired up many upstate Republican Party leaders because of his strong name recognition, his ability to fund his own campaign and his pugnacious personality, has pledged to run for governor — but only if the GOP clears the field by getting Astorino out of the race.
Many top GOP leaders, including state Chairman Ed Cox, are convinced the demand shows that Trump isn’t interested in running for governor and only wants the kind of publicity and speculation that he’s garnered when he previously flirted with past presidential and gubernatorial runs.
Astorino, a conservative Republican who has proven a popular vote-getter in 2-1 Democratic Westchester, has said he’ll decide whether to take on Cuomo before the end of the month. Several sources close to Astorino insisted he’s already decided to enter the contest.
Support from Long’s small but influential Conservative Party is considered crucial for any Republican to win statewide election.
Meanwhile, Cuomo’s political operatives, who claimed just weeks ago that Astorino had secretly promised the governor that he wouldn’t be a candidate, now concede he’s the likely challenger.
That’s why they’ve begun having surrogates like state Sen. Tim Kennedy (D-Buffalo) attack Astorino on a range of issues including abortion rights, and the controversial Common Core public-school curriculum.
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Hard-driving Erie County GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, a protégé of former Buffalo-area US representative and one-time Assembly Minority Leader Tom Reynolds, may well be the next state Republican chairman.
Party insiders say that it’s likely that longtime Chairman Ed Cox, who has struggled to find top-flight candidates for statewide office with little help from other party leaders, will be replaced before the end of the year — and that it’s a virtual certainty if the Republican candidate for governor goes down to defeat in November.
Langworthy is credited with the GOP’s successful takeover last November of the Erie County Legislature, despite the city of Buffalo’s heavy concentration of Democrats.
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Comedian and activist Randy Credico, a “Tonight Show” veteran and subject of the Laura Kightlinger documentary “Sixty Spins Around the Sun,’’ says he’s “definitely” going to challenge Cuomo in the Democratic primary this year.
“I’ve got the financial backers to do it, and we’ll get the votes of the progressives in the city on the left, who are all angry with Andrew because he’s covering for the rich and opposing Mayor de Blasio. And I’ll get conservative votes upstate because I’m pro-Second Amendment,’’ said Credico, who managed to get over 13,000 votes on the Democratic primary ballot in last year’s race for mayor.