Mr. Spitzer could be waiting for other large states to make their move before he proceeds. By keeping his options open, he also preserves a bargaining chip that could come in handy in his dealings with the national Democratic Party.

Mr. Spitzer, who is widely believed to harbor presidential ambitions, also must be considering the impact an earlier date would have on his own chances in six or 10 years.

"It's not just about Hillary," said a Democratic political consultant, Hank Sheinkopf, who was an adviser to President Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and also worked for Mr. Spitzer's first successful bid for attorney general in 1998. "To presume that's how he's thinking about it is wrong. He's thinking about it in a larger context."