Lazio hires new campaign chief

Rick Lazio's flagging campaign for governor has brought in a new campaign manager, replacing Kevin Fullington with Matthew Walter, a longtime staffer and former executive director of the state GOP committee, the campaign and the committee announced.

The move comes as Lazio, already trailing Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in the polls, begins to face some risk in a primary with deep-pocketed Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino. Though he thwarted Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy's bid, Lazio enters the final months of the race with only $688,821.53, campaign finance reports show.
"The energy all of this talent brings to our campaign to fix Albany is not only gratifying to me, but should put Andrew Cuomo and the Albany crowd on notice that their days are numbered," Lazio said in a statement Thursday.
- From staff reports