"We recognize that the time for bold and committed leadership is now. That is why we are asking you to run for Governor of New York as the Republican nominee in 2010," the chairs wrote. "In the last two years, you have proven that running government on business principles works. At one time Erie County was plagued by deficits and diminishing services while being under the oversight of a control board. In two short years, you have created a culture where services are being provided efficiently, surpluses are the norm and the control board no longer oversees the day-to-day county finances."

This is not a formal endorsement; it can't be, because while Collins is moving around like a candidate he has not formally declared. One strategist described as a measure to "stop the bleeding" as Lazio gained support, and back stop should Collins make an announcement in the future. (His political committee sent out the letter.) After Lazio was endorsed by Giuliani, Collins made calls to various county chairs asking them to hold off on endorsing Lazio. Collins and his closest surrogates reacted cattily in public.

A full list of all 15 chairs is below. I reached Jim Ellis, one of the regional vice chairs of the party, to explain the thinking behind the letter.

"Chris Collins is the kind of guy we're looking for. I'm not saying he is the guy, but he's the kind of guy," Ellis said. "We need some new leadership in New York State--the kind of leadership that gets into the trenches, and says that we're going to help people, but we don't need a Cadillac when a Chevrolet will do."

"None of us are turning our back on Rick Lazio," Ellis continued. "What we're saying is that the more choices there are the more chances we'll have to turn this ship wreck of a state around."

Rep Chair Letter

"It's simple: boots on the ground," Bulman, the Saratoga County Democratic chairman and the political director for the plumbers and steamfitters union, told me over lunch. "Which means union support. That's how we won the Murphy race, and I'm not convinced labor will be there--she's got a lot of support in labor, and it will hurt him and I'm not sure he can win."

Until now. With Scozzafava's withdrawal from the race, every union in the district is now backing Bill Owens. He had earned the endorsement of some labor groups--notably SEIU 1199--but had lost some critical others, like NYSUT as well as two central labor councils, to Scozzafava. In a low-turnout special election, the GOTV operations and phone banking the unions provide are critical. Both Ron McDougall, Scozzafava's husband, and the candidate herself are also backing Owens, but the labor support is key.

When I reached Bulman on Sunday, he said he was in Plattsburgh and that the field operations had tripled in the last 48 hours. Alan Lubin, the executive vice president of NYSUT told me that starting Sunday the phone banks had "changed our message"

"We hope to reach just about all of our members through phone calls," Lubin said, reminding me the union has nearly 30,000 members in the district. He said the choice to support Owens over Doug Hoffman, the Republican favorite running on the Conservative Party's line, was "easy."

One clear reason unions are jumping is the Employee Free Choice Act, or card check, which makes it much easier for unions to organize. Both Owens and Scozzafava supported the measure, and Hoffman is an unapologetic union-basher. But the split between the two caused some major labor groups--notably the AFL-CIO--to sit on the fence. Now, according to spokesman Mario Cilento, they're in behind Owens. All of labor is on his page.

The basic thinking is that Scozzafava's supporters would break for Hoffman; she is the Republican nominee, and locked up traditional, loyal, partisans who would not vote for an upstart so long as their party had a nominee. But this might not be the case: if you accept the premise, as Roger Stone so eloquently put it to me, that the race has come down to a conservative and two liberals, then with one liberal dropping out, her supporters would gravitate toward the other.

"What's she at, 21 percent?" said a longtime Republican strategist. "Of that, I'd bet 14 will go Owens and seven will go to Hoffman. Owens at 35 shows he didn't have all of the unions, and Hoffman at 35 shows he has most of the Republican core base. She didn't' pull out to help Hoffman--he's the guy who messed up her party. If he hadn't been in the race, the Republicans would have held their noses and voted for her."

Also, Scozzafava has now given an open endorsement of Owens. (Ed Cox, the Republican State Chairman, described this as "betrayal.") This will hold sway with the voters in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, where the assemblywoman is personally known (and runs strongest) to voters.

However, the Republican machine in New York (such as it is) is now coalescing around Hoffman. George Pataki was the first to go on Thursday evening, but over the course of Sunday Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, Rudy Giuliani, Jefferson County Chairman Don Coon, Franklin County Chairman Jim Ellis, as well as former State Senator Ray Meier and John Faso, the party's last gubernatorial nominee, and Assembly Republican Leader Brian Kolb. (Many of them had refused anything other than begrudging support of Scozzafava.) Republican leaders in Congress also promised Hoffman a spot on the Armed Services committee.

The real test Tuesday, then, will be which party's apparatus--including all the national forces that have poured in--is better.

More on Dede Scozzafava:

The Collapse of Dede Scozzafava, Moderate Republican

Women for Dede, After the Fact

Over the week, Republicans closed the tent. The establishment is now backing Doug Hoffman, an accountant who was nominated by the Conservative Party after Republicans picked Scozzafava. He has won the primary that never happened.

It's brewed for weeks: presumptive presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty declared their support for Hoffman. National PACs upset with Scozzafava's support of the federal stimulus, EFCA, same-sex marriage and abortion rights poured on money and attacks. Fred Thompson cut an ad for Hoffman.

At some point, Hoffman had gone from odd-ball spoiler to the best chance the Republicans have of keeping the seat out of Democratic hands. The National Republican Congressional Committee stopped attacking him and the Democrats, whose candidate Bill Owens was slowly and quietly building support, started.

The fatal blows to Scozzafava came Thursday. Representative Pete Sessions, chairman of the NRCC told Politico that if he won, Hoffman would be welcomed "with open arms." That night, George Pataki, the moderate former New York governor told a reception of Conservative Party members that he was backing Hoffman. It was a harbinger that the state Republican establishment--Chairman Ed Cox has skipped many opportunities to fight for Scozzafava--was gone along with the national guys. Then word of a new poll got around: Hoffman and Owens were in a dead heat, and Scozzafava was fatally lagging. She issued a statement Saturday morning, and "released" her supporters to do as they pleased. Dede Scozzafava never backed away from her moderate positions, and they killed her.

"You could smell it coming a mile away," said Jim Ellis, the Franklin County Republican chairman whose own views are more conservative than Scozzafava's. "I think Dede had the misfortune of running at a time when that particular message that she was putting out there had no relevance, and the NRCC basically wouldn't let her do what she normally would have done."

It was the local party officials--guided by Ellis--who settled on Scozafava; not the national partisans. Some chairs had reservations, but Scozzafava built a coalition of moderates to get the nomination, leaving bad feelings in the minds of some of the more conservative chairs.

It didn't matter at first. Scozzafava was the first declared candidate, and built an operation consisting of the consulting firm Capitol Public Strategies--a haven for old Pataki hands like Dave Catalfamo and Bill McGahay--and two staff operatives: Matt Burns and Michael Backus, John McHugh's former chief-of-staff. The NRCC sent two staffers and set about doing what the NRCC does: attack the opponents.

Predictably, the factions clashed. The internal staffers plotted a strategy based on Scozzafava's record in the Assembly, producing ads like this one and advising Scozzafava to not sign a national Taxpayer Protection Pledge that Hoffman was touting.

But no money was coming in. Scozzafava had in the past run with the support of labor unions and small-time donors that knew her over her political career. On a national scene, this completely blunted her in Republican fund-raising circles, especially with Hoffman as an alternative.

"Social stands might make people unsettled, but it's the economic issues that are really driving people and donations away. She's alienated the conservative, free enterprise wing of the party," said one prominent New York Republican. "Card check? The stimulus? I can't make a call to anyone on her behalf because of those things."

The money to pay Capitol Public Strategies ran out. The internal staff was overwhelmed.

The NRCC was left holding the bag, and as Ellis said, was unwilling to build on the support Scozzafava had, lest it alienate its own national donor base.

"Where were the pro-choice women's groups? Where were the marriage equality folks? How come no one went up to Doug Hoffman's accounting firm with signs attacking him for hating their gay daughter?" said one Republican operative familiar with the campaign.

"The argument was that she didn't have a clear path to victory," said a different operative familiar with the campaign.

Finally, the NRCC bailed and Scozzafava walked away. Loads of Republicans uncourageously jumped off the fence.

"By suspending her campaign it makes it possible for the Republican Party and the Conservative Party to unite and support the basic core values of the Republican Party on Tuesday," said Rick Lazio, who seeks both parties' blessing in a run for governor. "I congratulate her for her selflessness and join her and other Republicans in supporting Doug Hoffman for United States Congress."

"Dede Scozzafava has placed her Party and her principles over politics and position for years," said Cox, whose spokesman on Thursday insisted he was working hard to support her. "For those who know her, her actions today come as no surprise because they show real leadership. It is testament to her character and strength under difficult circumstances. Throughout her career, she has built a record of standing up for the people of the North County. This move demonstrates her commitment to ensuring that those people have a Republican, fiscally conservative voice in Congress."

"With Assemblywoman Scozzafava suspending her campaign, we urge voters to support Doug Hoffman's candidacy in New York's 23rd Congressional District," said Sessions, along with Republican Leader John Boehner and Whip Eric Cantor. "He is the only active candidate in the race who supports lower taxes, fiscal responsibility and opposes Nancy Pelosi's agenda of government-run healthcare, more government and less jobs. We look forward to welcoming Doug Hoffman into the House Republican Conference as we work together for the good of our nation."

Ellis told me he's "weighing" supporting Hoffman. Scozzafava is conspicuously not: given the mud he's slung at her, that probably breaks more favorably for him than would any endorsement.

"I could talk a lot about things that went right, and things that went wrong, but there's no point," Scozzafava said in an interview this morning. "Things happen for a reason, and I believe there's better things to come."

Bill Nojay, a conservative Republican talk show host in Central New York said that one of two questions at stake is now settled.

"She was out of sync with a new evolving direction for the Republican Party both nationally and in New York State. When you have George Pataki endorsing the Conservative, that tells you that the most experienced Republicans recognize that there's been a sea change in Republican politics," he told me. "And now that Dede's out of the way, it's now a take off the gloves yea or nay on the Obama administration."

He's been cast, understandably, in the spoiler role—the guy running to the right of Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who would siphon off enough votes from her that Bill Owens, the Democratic Party's nominee, would win the race to replace John McHugh. But the legs have been cut from underneath Scozzafava's candidacy in recent days: She's running low on cash as groups pound her with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ads. She had a disastrous appearance yesterday in front of Hoffman's headquarters. She called the cops on a reporter for The Weekly Standard, then lied to reporters about it. Conservative editorial pages—The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal—and pundits—Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck—are now putting their marbles behind Hoffman. The Washington Examiner just called on Scozzafava to withdraw from the race.

"Here's the question," Roger Stone, the conservative Republican strategist, said. "Will he voters of the 23rd see this as a race where two liberals split the liberal vote allowing the Republican to win, or will two Republicans split the Republican and allow the Democrat to win?"

Conservatives have been saying this all along, and may wind up with a great told-you-so moment if Hoffman wins, or finishes ahead of Scozzafava. (Polls show him closing the gap.)

"There is no doubt in my mind that she will come in last," said George Marlin, a conservative blogger and banker.  "Once again, the Republicans learn that you cannot out-Democrat the Democrats. And when you try to, your base explodes."

Everyone points to the 1970 election of James Buckley to the U.S. Senate. Charles Goodell, a moderate Republican, was appointed by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller after Robert F. Kennedy was killed by Sirhan Sirhan. In office, he began to oppose the Vietnam War, and ran Democrat Rick Ottinger and Buckley on the Conservative Party line. Buckley squeaked out the win and served until 1976.

The key for Conservatives backing Hoffman has been to paint Scozzafava as a liberal, pointing to her record as a legislator in Albany—she voted twice to legalize gay marriage—her past associations with ACORN and the Working Families Party and her votes in favor of budgets that contained tax increases. Hoffman and his surrogates have been doing this for weeks now, and without financial backing, Scozzafava has been left without the resources to shoot back.

The other trick here is to remember that Republican leaders in the district are relatively comfortable with Hoffman, given their options. While Scozzafava won the nomination, it left bad feelings in the minds of some local county chairs and committee members—and some might even support him. George Joseph, chairman of the Oneida County Republican Committee, told a conservative blogger that he's written off the election. (He thinks a Democrat will win.)

I asked Jim Ellis, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Committee, if there were Republican Party functionaries out there who have already abandoned Scozzafava.

"I have no disagreement with that proposition," he said. "They're either going to work with Hoffman or they're going to lay back and do nothing."

Ellis said he would continue to work for the Republican nominee. Jim Kelly, a conservative activist who briefly tried to seek the party's nomination, told me things were "fractured" among the Republican base.

"I've received a phone call from two county leaders and they said, 'This was a big mistake.' We knew it in our heart of hearts," Kelly said, declining, of course, to say who called.

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, who considers himself more conservative than his colleague Scozzafava, disagreed.

"I think you've got to look at the next poll, because if it's close, I don't think you make that determination. You stick with your endorsed candidate," Tedisco told me. "I think it says a very bad message to not only this state, but other states, when our local chairmen decide on a candidate, and that's a part of our problem. When you settle on a candidate after a process, you support that candidate."

If elected, Hoffman would caucus with Republicans and would seek the Republican line for reelection, his spokesman Rob Ryan said. So there won't be much of a difference from a partisan perspective.

The problem with this easy cruise is Hoffman. He's not particularly nimble, in terms of his presentation, and it's not apparent that he has a particularly good grasp of the issues. I found this when we spoke about health care, and Jude Seymour seemed struck by some of Hoffman's non-answers before the editorial board of the Watertown Daily Times.

Scozzafava's people point this out. Matt Burns, her campaign spokesman, said Hoffman is "grossly unable to represent the people of the 23rd Congressional District when he can't even answer questions or agree to debate the issues."

The thing is that most people—myself included—have written off Hoffman as a mere spoiler. We shouldn't have assumed.

According to people who received the letters, it includes a summary of Collins' biography and accomplishments and explicitly mentions a statewide run.

"It was a letter that came from the chairman about Mr. Collins's positives. I'm assuming that Collins just wants to make sure he's not being counted out," said Jasper Nolan, chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Party, who received the letter yesterday. Collins has also formed an exploratory committee and made trips around the state. He would be a rival to other potential Republican candidates, including Rudy Giuliani and George Pataki, whose surrogates are backing Wojtaszek. Liz reported that former attorney general Dennis Vacco, a western New York native, has also joined this "unholy alliance."

As such, the timing of the letter may be telling. Collins is backing Ed Cox in his bid to succeed Joe Mondello as chair of the Republican State Committee, passing over his neighbor to the north Henry Wojtaszek, currently the Niagara County chairman.

Domagalski is close to both Collins and Wojtaszek, and has endorsed neither Wojtaszek nor Cox. But, several Republican sources noted, a Collins reminder flies against the as-yet-solidified Wojtaszek-Giuliani nexus.

"It's very telling, considering that there's been no endorsement yet from Jim Domagalski of his neighboring county chairman," said Jim Ellis, the Franklin County Republican chairman and an early Cox backer, of the letter.

Domagalski did not return a call and an e-mail seeking comment. Wojtaszek told me by phone that Domagalski has been an "ally" but was waiting to have a more open process before backing either state chairman.

"Jim is a friend and ally, and I've watched him go through these other races, and he's been very successful in taking the time to vet those people that have come before him and to make sure those people that come before him," Wojtaszek said. "I've had conversations with Jim Domagalski, and my understanding is they're going to have a process in Erie County similar to like they were in Manhattan."

Wojtaszek and Cox met there last night for a debate before members of the executive county committee. Manhattan chairwoman Jennifer Saul has also not made an endorsement of either candidate.

Chris Grant, Collins' chief of staff, noted that this is not the first letter that Domagalski has sent out on Collins' behalf; Collins spokesman Grant Loomis sent along this statement on the chairmanship:

County Executive Collins believes that the 2010 statewide elections are a watershed for New York.  We can either elect leaders willing to challenge the status quo and reform our once glorious state, or we can continue to elect career politicians who answer only to the special interests who have led our state down the road to ruin."

We are now privileged to have candidates willing to lead our party and deliver for the residents of this state.  Henry Wojtaszek is a bright and shining star in our party with a long future ahead of him. 

 Ed Cox was the first to seize the initiative to unseat the status-quo weeks ago.  Over the years, he had demonstrated his commitment to our state and our party.  As a result, County Executive Collins is supporting Mr. Cox.

"Our friend and colleague Joe Mondello has served our party for many years in various capacities. He deserves our respect and gratitude for his efforts," says the letter. "However, the time has come for new leadership and a new direction that will ensure our party moves into the future with renewed strength."

The list mostly includes upstate officials, including party vice chairmen Jim Ellis and Bill Hatch. The chairs of Brooklyn and Westchester counties also signed the letter.

Mondello's term expires in September. Matt Walter, his spokesman, has said he plans to run again, despite the increasingly open jockeying to replace him. In addition to Cox, Niagara County G.O.P. chairman Henry Wojtaszek has said he is exploring a run, but I haven't heard much from him lately. Dan Isaacs is also openly campaigning.

The chairmanship is determined by a weighted vote; as head of the Nassau County Committee Mondello controls a large chunk of it for himself, and Queens boss Phil Ragusa is said to stand with him. Jasper Nolan, chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Committee, has told me he supports Mondello. Other counties noticeably absent from Cox's letter are Suffolk, Bronx, Manhattan, Monroe, and Erie, all of which are large.

"I am truly honored that in such a short time, so many of our county chairs from all across the state have pledged their support for my effort to serve as our next State chairman.  I am also grateful for still other chairmen, elected officials and party activists that have indicated support and enthusiasm for my candidacy," Cox said in a statement (distributed under a flashy new logo!). "This is just the beginning of an exciting and vital effort to reinvigorate our Republican Party."

Cox has also assembled a "finance committee-in-waiting" to begin stoking party coffers if he is installed as chairman.

UPDATE: I swear I can count past 20; one of the chairs was cut off between the e-mail and the PDF. Cox has 24 signatories.

"All of a sudden we've got to go out and get a non-party person to run on the Democratic ticket? I guess the question is, are they running away from their president?" said Jim Ellis, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.

I spoke with Ellis for several minutes just now, and he said that he expected Owens to run to the right of Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, his party's nominee for the seat. (Scozzafava's campaign hasn't returned several inquiries I've made over the course of the day.)

This echoes the sentiment of Conservative Party leader Mike Long, who said Scozzafava is "the most liberal" of the candidates in the race. The Conservative Party has nominated accountant Doug Hoffman.

"I would expect that he's going to run to the right of him. He's Darrel Aubertine without being Darrel Aubertine," Ellis said of Owens, invoking the name of the popular state senator who was the presumptive Democratic nominee before withdrawing from consideration after Republicans preemptively attacked. "If it had been him, or Darrel Aubertine, or Mr. X, they would have all run to the right of Dede. Because that's what the data is telling them. I've got to be honest, I don't really know. But the data, supposedly, is that people are fed up with the spending and fed up with the arrogance of the Congress of the United States. As Jefferson said, a little rebellion is a good thing."

Ellis had a tough time actually coming up with anything too bad to say about Owens himself, though. He said he didn't consider his lack of legislative experience a problem. The phrase he repeated to me was "running away from their president," which foreshadows a talking point we're likely to hear more of in this race.

Last night, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay issued a statement that didn't address the merits of Owens's candidacy, or attack it. It just pre-emptively defended Scozzafava, who Owens has yet to mention.

"Now that Bill Owens has been selected by his party, it is only a matter of time before he will try to distort Dede Scozzafava's work to create jobs and fight against wasteful spending in Albany," Lindsay said. "We are prepared to assist Dede in whatever capacity we can to fight against the false attacks and personal smears that have already been spread by her opponents. Voters in central and northern New York are looking for a common-sense leader who can work across party lines to better their communities, and Dede is the only candidate in this race who has a record of doing just that."

A special election for the seat is expected to fall in November, but has not been formally called.

The enrolled Republican was passed over during a selection process last month that made Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava the party's candidate to replace John McHugh in Congress. He announced he is seeking the Conservative Party's nomination, but he is also hoping Republican powers that be might reconsider.

"They cannot officially vote on who the Republican candidate is until Congressman McHugh is appointed and he resigns his Congressional seat," Hoffman said in a conference call between us and his newly hired consultant, Rob Ryan. "They still have the opportunity to reconsider their decision, and to reconsider whether they want a liberal or a common-sense conservative."

Hoffman, an accountant and business consultant who was raised by a single mother, said he wasn't holding Republicans hostage, but said he did send a letter to all 11 county chairs asking them to reconsider their decision because "there was no effective conservative Republican voice in the race."

Jim Ellis, chairman of the Franklin County Republican Committee and the regional vice chairman of the party, told me about the letter when he received it last week, but didn't quite slam the door shut on Hoffman's request. (He did say chairs were "honor-bound" to nominate Scozzafava.)

"I don't think I'd consider anything, at this point, until I see what happens when all 11 of us come together," Ellis said. "There's life in the body, but I don't know if it's going to make anybody switch anything. That's the question."

"It's possible, but I don't think it's probable," he added when I asked how feasible this was. Hoffman replied similarly.

"That's up to them," he said of the Republican chairs. "I'm prepared to win this race on the Conservative line. The voters out there are looking for an alternative. The voters are displeased with the choices that the Republicans made, and they'll be equally disappointed with a Nancy Pelosi Democrat."

Hoffman says he has spoken with all 11 Conservative party chairs about garnering that party's endorsement, and is apparently on the good side of State Chairman Mike Long.  Jon Alvarez and Jim Kelly are also seeking the party's nomination.

Democrats will meet August 10 to select a candidate.

UPDATE: Dave Catalfamo, whose firm has been newly hired by Scozzafava, called to say Hoffman's actions are "unfortunate."

"It's unfortunate that after giving his word and saying he would support Dede Scozzafava; it's unfortunate that he's going in a different direction," Catalfamo said. "We're confident at the end of the day that the county chairmen will stand by their selection. I know Jim Ellis to be a man of his word and I expect he'll keep it."

"We had to presume it was Aubertine," Ellis told me by phone. I asked him about the theory—which some have proclaimed more openly than others—that New York Republicans were trying to draw Aubertine into the Congressional race so they would stand a better chance at taking back the Senate seat he currently occupies. (The district is considered heavily Republican.)

Nonsense, Ellis said.

"Everybody has their conspiracy theories, I don't deal in conspiracies," he said. "After 40 years in this business, I could smell it: he's in trouble. You know that movie <Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? I think Mr. Aubertine went to Albany, and I think he got snookered by the guys from New York City. And that's about as mean a thing as I'll say about him. He's a nice man."

Before we hung up, Ellis said of Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the party's newly named candidate for the seat, "She and I disagree on social issues a great deal. I've let her know about it, and I'll continue to let her know about it."

(Scozzafava is in favor of same-sex marriage and a woman's right to "safe, legal abortion.")

That said, Ellis said he is not concerned that Scozzafava will be outflanked on the right.

Republicans have convened four meetings around the sprawling district, according to Franklin County Republican Chairman Jim Ellis,  at which more than 300 party members interacted with the nine candidates vying for the seat, which is expected to become vacant when McHugh, a Republican, is confirmed as the Obama administration's secretary of the Army.

The Republican county chairs are scheduled to meet Wednesday. This morning, Democrats put out a press release saying they met Friday to extend their solicitation of candidate materials by another week.

"We are tentatively scheduled for this Wednesday. Whether or not it results in balloting is not determined," Ellis told me. The Republican county chairs within the district will officially determine their party's candidate after a special election is called.

These preliminary processes are gravy anyway. And the Republicans think the Democrats, in particular, are just going through the motions.

"If you look at it, if they've extended their deadline by another week, the reason they're going to the 24^th is that it's two days after we meet. So we might just play that game and say, ‘Eh, we'll just have a general discussion,'" Ellis said. "We already made our assumption early on that [Darrel] Aubertine was the candidate. We're going to prepare for the strongest candidate, and he appears to be the strongest candidate."

He then attacked Aubertine for not ending the leadership struggle in the State Senate. Aubertine has not stated his intentions publicly, but is facing pressure to stay in the Senate.

In the release, Democrats said their extension was "due to overwhelming interest."

"We figured, we've got a few days, so why not just open up the window a bit?" Sean Hennessey, the Jefferson County Democratic chairman, told me. "The Republicans' process had no bearing on it at all."

He said there have been roughly a dozen submissions so far, and that the Democratic chairs will converse Tuesday night about when the potential candidates can be interviewed. It's unclear when that will proceed, and when someone might be named.