D'Amato, other GOP stalwarts siding with Democrat Cuomo for guv

At a Nassau GOP fundraiser in May, former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato - once New York's top Republican in Washington - sat next to the party's favorite for governor, Rick Lazio, and predicted good times ahead.

"We are back stronger than ever," D'Amato told the GOP faithful. "We need a Republican at the helm of this state, to stop these special-interest groups and to stand up for working men and women - and that will take place with Rick Lazio."

But four months later, a D'Amato spokeswoman who asked not to be identified said he is "not supporting either Republican" - Lazio or his Sept. 14 primary challenger Carl Paladino - because "they can't win." And like D'Amato, several prominent Republicans are not-so-secretly supporting or giving aid to the Democrat in the governor's race - state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

"The state is in a holy mess and I care more about the state than the party - and Andrew is the best guy to fix the problems," explained developer Peter S. Kalikow, a longtime GOP stalwart who's given $40,000 to the Cuomo 2010 campaign.

It's been that kind of year so far for New York Republicans who, going into the 2010 race, had cause to believe they might win back the governorship after nearly four years of Democratic control in Albany. Along with growing voter discontent, scandal mired the Democratic administrations of both former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008, and incumbent Gov. David A. Paterson, who decided earlier this year not to seek election.

"If ever there were conditions right for a Republican upset, this is the year," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Poll in Poughkeepsie.

Yet Miringoff and other political experts say recent events have left them wondering if the GOP may be missing its chance to regain the governorship. Among the party's obstacles:

A Wall Street executive and former congressman from Brightwaters, Lazio has less than $1 million in his campaign war chest, according to the latest records, dwarfed by Cuomo's $24 million. Though he recently picked up some traction with his opposition to the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero, Lazio still faces a stiff primary challenge from wealthy Buffalo developer Paladino, who vows to spend up to $10 million of his own money to become the GOP's nominee against Cuomo this November.

At the state party's June convention, intraparty tensions were on full display. Lazio, backed by Nassau GOP chief Joseph Mondello and some party regulars, fended off a challenge by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat who switched parties after being recruited by state GOP chair Edward Cox and Suffolk GOP chief John Jay LaValle to oppose Lazio. Levy's bid failed at the convention, but the battle there illuminated the tensions between Cox and Mondello and the sense that even top Republicans feared Lazio was a weak candidate for governor.

In June last year, Kalikow hosted a private East End fundraiser for Cuomo attended by D'Amato, now one of the state's leading lobbyists. "He [D'Amato] and the Cuomos are very close friends," Kalikow explained. Along with Kalikow and D'Amato (who also attended a Manhattan Cuomo cocktail party in June), other Republicans have been friendly recently to Cuomo, if not with formal endorsements, then simply because they often do business with the state as lobbyists or have projects that need a governor's support. Many were surprised when Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano - a Republican and close Mondello ally - showed up last month at a news conference with Cuomo to support the idea of a property tax cap.

Paladino, a favorite of tea party activists likely to show up at the polls, could cause deep trouble for Lazio. While Lazio already has the Conservative Party's nod, Paladino is putting together a new "taxpayers" line on the ballot. If Paladino also wins the GOP nomination on Sept. 14, it will cause great consternation for Cox, who calls Paladino "a regional candidate" with little appeal outside western New York.

Unlike the GOP, the Democrats managed to avoid a divisive party primary fight earlier this year when the incumbent Paterson dropped out of the governor's race and Levy switched to the Republicans, allowing Cuomo to collect millions in donations while rallying support. But for all the internal GOP squabbling, Lazio's camp expresses confidence that he will win the primary and go on to beat Cuomo in November.

"Rick Lazio will have all of the resources he needs to beat Andrew Cuomo from a variety of backers," said spokesman Barney Keller.

Paladino said he's the best candidate to draw out Cuomo into a public debate about the Democrats' handling of state government and about Cuomo's own public and personal past. "I can't wait to debate him; I can't wait for him to explode in a debate - and I'm sure that he will," Paladino said.

Cuomo's camp discounts GOP claims made by Lazio and Paladino of avoiding public scrutiny. They point out the Democratic gubernatorial candidate has appeared in the past months at dozens of events across the state, done a dozen radio interviews, and taken media questions at public events related to his current duties as state attorney general.

Cox said he has no regrets about recruiting Levy to challenge Lazio at the party's convention, nor did it undermine the GOP's gubernatorial chances for the fall. "It was something that, right from the start, I realized would be good for the party," Cox explained.

Ultimately, Cox said the GOP's fortunes this fall will depend on whether New Yorkers want the Democrats to remain in charge in Albany.

"As much as he [Cuomo] may try and talk like a Republican and be a fiscal conservative, he cannot be," said Cox about the Democratic front-runner. "For his 30 years in public life, he has been a Democrat. He's been very tied into the special interests that have run Albany, and there's no way he can escape that."