Edward Cox expected to again become state Republican chairman

ALBANY — State Republican leaders said they expect to make former state GOP chairman Edward Cox their new leader on Monday to help lead the party in a new direction based on a Long Island playbook.

The last of several candidates vying for the job, Assemb. Chris Tague (R-Schoharie), told Newsday on Wednesday that he has withdrawn from the race and will join Cox’s team.

Cox and his supporters in the party leadership say the selection of a new chairman comes at a crossroads for the party. They said they want to take the state GOP away from the vitriol prevalent when former President Donald Trump led the national party to one focused on public safety, jobs and good schools to attract voters not enrolled in a party and Democrats who have soured on their party’s turn leftward.

Cox, 76, who lives in Suffolk County, is expected to fill the unexpired term of Nick Langworthy, who was elected to Congress in November.

Cox is a finance lawyer and the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon. He served in roles for former GOP presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and was the state Republican chairman for 10 years until he resigned in 2019.

Cox was a key figure in the election and administration of former Republican Gov. George Pataki, who served from 1996 to 2006 and was the last Republican elected to statewide office. Cox also worked on the presidential campaigns of Sen. John McCain and Donald Trump.

“We’re fortunate to have someone of the caliber of Ed Cox, with his experience, that is ready and willing to step in,” said Sen. Joseph Griffo (R-Rome), a senior leader in the party. “That will be helpful because you had a lack of consensus.”

Cox said the state party won’t rely on social media bombast or ideological broadsides. Instead the party will focus on the “basic issues” of public safety, jobs and schools that allowed Republicans to win congressional and state legislative races on Long Island in the past four years.

He said that playbook also brought Rep. Lee Zeldin of Shirley close to winning the governor’s office in November, although Democrats still hold all statewide offices and supermajorities in the Senate and Assembly.

“I’m not sure that’s ideological,” Cox told Newsday. “Guess who made that same point and won? (Democrat) Eric Adams,” the New York City mayor.

Cox said he will also rely heavily on the Long Island Republican leaders who flipped congressional seats last fall and won state legislative races over the last four years. Cox said he’s been working closely with Suffolk County Republican chairman Jesse Garcia to plot the party’s new chapter to win local and state legislative races to build support for the national GOP for the 2024 congressional and presidential elections.

“We’re going to be a big tent here in New York,” Cox said Wednesday. “I think that theme that Lee Zeldin used to ‘Save Our State’ will be the theme going forward. But that means going back to basics.”

Cox has secured the support of more than half of the county Republican chairs statewide, including key endorsements by Garcia and Nassau County GOP chairman Joseph Cairo. Cox said Tague called him Saturday to say he would withdraw from the race.

“It happened very quickly, so our team is going to move right in and go to work,” Cox said.

Cox’s idea of enlarging the party around issues — public safety, good jobs and good schools — comes as Trump’s star is fading nationally.

“The Trump years resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of party members here — suburban women in particular — and retargeting New Yorkers who left the party during those years makes a lot of sense,” said Bill O’Reilly, a longtime Republican and conservative adviser. “The next chairman would also be wise to till the soil in Asian, Latino and African American communities, where support for Republicans is growing.”

Cox, however, faces internal opposition in unifying Republicans.

“This is a big crossroads,” said Carl Paladino of Buffalo, the party’s 2010 nominee for governor and a Trump supporter and adviser. Paladino backed Susan McNeil of Fulton County for GOP chair. McNeil didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“The old coots are asleep,” Paladino told Newsday. “It’s a disgrace … There is no real effort to reorganize the party, especially with young people.”

Peter Giunta, chairman of the New York State Young Republicans, said younger members of the party are pushing for a louder voice within the party after serving as ground troops.

“I think if you ask young Republicans what they want to see, you will get a mixed bag of issues,” Giunta told Newsday. “Some support America First, some are die-hard Trump supporters, some very much identify with the Nelson Rockefeller era of Republicanism,” Guinta said.

David Catalfamo, a former top aide to Pataki who has run for the Assembly on the GOP line, agreed the party needs “more variety.”

“We’re not post-Trump yet, but we are in a decided territory of being open,” Catalfamo said.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.