new york state republican party chairman ed cox. | ap photo/mike groll by jimmy vielkind 11/28/16 05:29 am est albany <u+2014> donald trump<u+2019>s election has given a boost to republican state committee chairman ed cox, an unexpected ally of a president-elect who had previously been a vexing misfit in new york politics. cox, a lawyer from manhattan, has been the party chairman for more than seven years. he<u+2019>s close to reince priebus, the incoming president<u+2019>s chief of staff, and his son, christopher, is reportedly up for an ambassadorship. but unlike many republicans ascending to the white house with trump, cox was far from an early booster. story continued below trump<u+2019>s win has simultaneously reinvigorated the populist, tea party brand of republicanism that thrives in rural areas of new york (think carl paladino, 2010 gubernatorial nominee) and the establishment, country club types <u+2014> concentrated in new york city and its suburbs <u+2014> including many of the party<u+2019>s top officials, donors and stalwart operatives (think rick lazio, 2010 also-ran). certainly the round goes to paladino and his allies, rooted in erie county, who were early and vigorous trump backers. in fact, paladino's upstart campaign for governor in 2010 served as an early prototype of trump<u+2019>s campaign, even featuring some of the same advisers. that crowd has always been leery of cox , stemming from the 2010 governor's race, when cox, the son-in-law of richard nixon, backed steve levy, and then lazio, before finally coming around to paladino. they sniped when he stayed officially neutral in the run-up to new york<u+2019>s presidential primary this year. and one trump adviser, speaking on background, called cox a <u+201c>cipher<u+201d> in may, after his formal endorsement of trump but when it still seemed possible for convention delegates to back someone else. victory, though, has apparently soothed some of the hurt feelings. <u+201c>quite frankly, i think ed<u+2019>s stock has now gone up a bit,<u+201d> said onondaga county republican chairman tom dadey, an early trump supporter who attempted to challenge cox for the chairmanship last year. <u+201c>he<u+2019>s going to play a role with the new administration because of the relationship that he has being state chair from the home state of the president and his relationship with the chief of staff.<u+201d> erie county republican chairman nick langworthy, who is talked about as a potential state chair, said during a radio interview last week that he was interested in the position but would wait to see if cox will seek another term. and michael caputo, who managed paladino<u+2019>s 2010 campaign, had rare positive words for cox but also some arch hopes for his future. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s a lot of talk of ed cox, perhaps, with an ambassadorship. he<u+2019>s perfect for the job <u+2014> he<u+2019>s practically out of central casting,<u+201d> said caputo, who also (briefly) worked on trump<u+2019>s campaign. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s a lot of support for it in the trump organization as well.<u+201d> cox has told people he is planning to seek another term as party leader in september. in a brief interview with politico new york, he sidestepped direct questions about the chairmanship but said he is more bullish than ever about republican prospects close to home. democrats, including gov. andrew cuomo and new york city mayor bill de blasio, he said, are consumed by in-fighting and grappling with investigations of their close allies. <u+201c>while they<u+2019>re all going at it, it gives us a real chance as a republican party to use the energy that de blasio generates against himself here in the city to build up in the five boroughs,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m interested in getting the job done. that means electing a republican governor, and under these circumstances a republican mayor of new york city, and one falls from the other.<u+201d> the larger struggle to come is not over the leadership of the party, but the 2018 elections. cuomo has said he will seek a third term , and several gop leaders are maneuvering for spots on the party ticket. so how did each man approach trump? westchester county executive rob astorino, the party<u+2019>s 2014 candidate, has continued to be an outspoken critic of common core-aligned tests. he appeared with trump at a conservative party function, and stuck by him while other republicans fled in the wake of trump's misogynist comments. harry wilson, a wealthy business consultant who ran for comptroller in 2010, has not said anything about trump. neither has dutchess county executive marc molinaro. a jubilant paladino told newsday that he was pondering another run, and that trump would <u+201c>absolutely<u+201d> endorse him if he were to be a candidate again. caputo predicted this would be important for people in the party base who, despite trump<u+2019>s loss in his home state, turned out to propel gop candidates in congress and the state senate. <u+201c>just like any other election, this one will have consequences,<u+201d> caputo said. <u+201c>some of them good, some of them bad <u+2014> and it will be driven by your level of support for the republican nominee, early and after.<u+201d> a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york education policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york energy policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york health care policy and politics a free synopsis of our pro morning email about new york real estate policy and politics our morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on state news and politics a morning email with must-read analysis and breaking news on city news and politics. a weekly round-up of legislation in city council for politics and policy professionals. a reported briefing on money in politics, executive moves, and trends in communications, lobbying and consulting. our twice-a-week digest of news on courts and the law in new york azi paybarah and jimmy vielkind's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable new yorkers.
thanks to trump, ed cox is suddenly riding high
jimmy vielkind