State Conservative chief: We'll stick with Lazio

Despite Rick Lazio's defeat in the Republican gubernatorial primary, State Conservative chairman Michael Long Wednesday said he is sticking with Lazio as the minor party's standard-bearer.

Long's stance is highly significant to the future of New York's Conservative Party because it needs to get at least 50,000 votes in the gubernatorial race to keep a place on the statewide ballot.

"I think the Conservative voters spoke last night in the primary," Long said. "He's our candidate as we move forward."

The only way Lazio could get off the ballot is by moving out of the state or taking a judicial nomination. One party insider also worried that if the party moved to Republican primary-winner Carl Paladino, it could backfire over his continued verbal gaffes: "He could implode in a country second."

Long said he spoke to Lazio Wednesday morning and said he will meet with him next week to plot strategy for the fall campaign. He added he has no worries that Lazio would be able to preserve the minor party's place on the statewide ballot.

"I think he can be very competitive in the race," Long said. "He did very well on Long Island, where he got 67,000 Republican votes in Nassau and Suffolk in what was a very small turnout."

Long said Paladino's victory Tuesday was fueled by upstate GOP voters. "Upstate voted for their hometown guy," he said. "I understand that because everyone is out of work and companies are leaving." But he added Paladino's history "does not have the history of a movement Conservative."