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What's next for Suozzi?

May 30, 2006

Conventional wisdom, of course, calls it Eliot Spitzer's race to lose for governor, making Thomas Suozzi the highest profile of this year's long shots. And, as state-convention week begins, the Nassau County executive is also the only one to declare so far that, if he fails to overcome his daunting odds, "For me, this is it ... If I lose, I'll finish my term as county executive, and that's it for politics."

After he was quoted that way in The New York Times last week, Suozzi said he'd been saying as much all along. Then he chose to put it another way to Newsday: "If I don't win, I plan on finishing out my term as county executive ... I don't see any other position that I would run for."

Whatever the nuances, most candidates stick mainly to the textbook posture of predicting victory and not discussing alternatives. "John Faso plans on being elected the next governor of New York, and that's where his focus is," said Susan Del Percio, the Republican candidate's spokeswoman, when asked what he would do if he loses.

Answering the question as lightheartedly as it was conveyed, Spitzer's spokeswoman Christine Anderson replied that, if he loses, "he'd go work for his brother-in-law with NASCAR's Hendrick Motorsports pit crew."

As for GOP contender William Weld, "he'll most likely return to the private sector," if the does not become governor of his second northeastern state, said Andrea Tantaros, spokeswoman.

For those vying for nominations farther down the ballot, the discussion of exit strategies also varies by candidate. Denise O'Donnell of Buffalo, who's running for attorney general, says candidly through a spokeswoman she'd return to the law firm Hodgson Russ LLP if she loses.

A spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo, now the frontrunner among the AG Democratic rivals, said he "has not spent a moment thinking about that. He is completely focused on winning this race ... "

A spokeswoman for Rockland County attorney Charlie King, who is trailing badly in the polls, asserted: "There is no way Charlie will lose this campaign."

Republican candidate Jeanine Pirro, the former Westchester district attorney, said through a spokeswoman when asked about her future options: "I'm not going to lose."

Staff writers Michael Rothfeld, James T. Madore and Melanie Lefkowitz contributed.