In a public statement, Wojtaszek said, “The Nassau County Republican Committee has long set the standard for local parties throughout the country, and I have no doubt Chairman Mondello and his team will help us achieve great success at the ballot box."

This helps shape the race up as a referendum on Mondello’s tenure, with supporters of it now free to line up behind Wojtaszek, and critics of it more prone now to get behind Ed Cox, a prominent lawyer who is Richard Nixon’s son-in-law.

Mondello took over the party four years ago, after George Pataki and the establishment tried helping Bill Weld get the G.O.P. gubernatorial nomination. They forced it a bit too much, and rival John Faso – whom Cox was supporting – was able to get it. During that fight, Mondello sat on the fence until the last minute, and, even after the dust settled, wasn’t considered much of a Faso booster. (When called on to cast a vote during the nominating convention, Mondello passed. Then, after everyone else voted and Faso and clinched the nomination, Mondello split his vote between the two candidates.)

Mondello became chair (replacing Steve Minarik), but his cool relationship with the Cox/Faso chunk of the party persisted.

It seems that feud can continue for a little longer.

The former chairman of the state Republican Party, Stephen Minarik, told Capital News 9 last night, “I would say that it’s probably--it’s still speculation now and it’s probably a huge long shot. But frankly, I would look around and I would challenge any of the potential candidates that are on both sides of the aisle in this race, I would challenge them to be able to produce a record of accomplishment like that of Mayor Bloomberg’s.”

He went on to say, “Mayor Michael Bloomberg has done such an outstanding job in running the city of New York that in my estimation, he’s one of the top decision makers I’ve ever seen as a leader in government. And I would say to you that is what we need in the federal government.”

That’s a little different than former Rudy Giuliani adviser Fred Siegel’s take on Bloomberg. Writing for The New Republic [subscription], Siegel said, “Bloomberg's greatest accomplishment has been to continue the Giuliani crime and welfare reforms. But when it comes to his own initiatives, 311 excepted, it's been a different matter.”

Republicans notably, and deliberately, steering clear of today's festivities include Mike Bloomberg, Al D'Amato, George Pataki and former state chair Stephen Minarik aren't particpating.

But who's counting?

Nancy Pelosi is backing John Murtha for as majority leader.

Russ Feingold said he won't run for president, and never really wanted to.

Howard Wolfson gets profiled.

Stephen Minarik, the state Republican Party chairman, is stepping down and could be replaced by the chairman in Nassau County, Joseph Mondello.

Newsday says that Minarik has Joe Bruno's support.

Alan Hevesi may step down as state comptroller to avoid prosecution from the Albany District Attorney.

Bill Thompson is reportedly not interested in succeeding Hevesi, opting to stay on as city comptroller and possibly run for mayor in 2009.

Ben has the back story on the angry real estate scion who helped oust Rep. Sue Kelly.

And the Times offers some advice to the state's Republican Party.

-- Azi Paybarah

-- Republican State Chairman Stephen Minarik moments ago on WROW.

-- Azi Paybarah

Nothing in there for Stephen Minarik, who will be the Republican State Chairman for at least another few minutes.

-- Azi Paybarah

How long does it take Republicans to get out the knives for state chairman Stephen Minarik? Who will replace him?

How many votes will decide this year's rematch between Nick Spano and Andrea Stewart-Cousins?

Does John Sweeney hold on? Or does he lose today because of the national Democratic surge? Or because of allegations that he beat his wife?

Who takes the seat in Buffalo: Tom Reynolds or self-financed Republican-turned-Democrat Jack Davis?

Could singer John Hall upset Rep. Sue Kelly?

In the city, how close does Stephen Harrison get to Vito Fossella?

What do the blogs say about Joe Lieberman's comeback in Connecticut?

If Bob Menendez hangs on in New Jersey, how quickly will this stuff go away?

And of course...What are the headlines in tomorrow's tabs?

-- Azi Paybarah

The Sun reports that a company targeted by Eliot Spitzer last year, offered a close friend $1 million for a meeting with the Attorney General.

The Albany Times Union reports that over two dozen media outlets, including itself, have filed a lawsuit against Sheldon Silver and Joe Bruno for violating "the state Freedom of Information Law by refusing to disclose which lawmakers asked for specific grants for community projects."

—Nicole Brydson

He left humbly, heaping praise upon John Faso, a former minority leader in the New York State Assembly.

“Sometimes it takes a little while for things to settle in, and it was no one thing,” he said to a room full of reporters at his office in midtown, as Mr. Faso stood by and beamed. “John has made a very convincing case for himself politically and as a policy matter.”

Mr. Weld’s withdrawal, which followed a heavy defeat at the party convention last week, cleared the field for Mr. Faso to run this fall against the likely Democratic nominee, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

For many Republicans, the civilized departure of Mr. Weld, 60, came as something of a relief. “It makes a big difference,” said state chairman Stephen Minarik, who originally backed Mr. Weld but pleaded with him last weekend to drop out of the race.

But why did Mr. Weld fail? After all, he was hyper-qualified—he was a former federal prosecutor in the Reagan administration—and seemed, in a paper match-up at least, to provide his party with the best chance of winning a difficult race for the state’s top office.

As it turns out, New York may not have been ready for “straight baseball,” the phrase Mr. Weld used last week in describing his stream-of-consciousness, come-what-may style of political discourse.

An old-money native of eastern Long Island, Mr. Weld’s substantial charms were apparently lost on the party’s rank and file, who overwhelmingly chose the stolid, conservative Mr. Faso at their convention last week by a margin of 61-39.

For the campaign, it was a crushing blow. For Mr. Weld, whose approach to the campaign at times leant him the air of an adventure-seeking hobbyist, it was the slightest of setbacks.

At a barbecue at his Bellport home shortly after the heavy convention defeat, Mr. Weld almost seemed not to have noticed what had happened earlier in the day. “I’m going to be myself whether that is the right strategy or not,” he said as he sat on the white rail of his wooden back deck.

It was, for him, effortless—working a small group of reporters with cocktail-party chatter about how Nancy Reagan was “a real hoofer” and sharing stories about his time as the governor of Massachusetts.

While he walked around the renovated house, admiring the blue paint job and noting that it once “had holes in the ceiling all the way up to the sky,” Mr. Weld seemed not to have a care in the world. Certainly, there was no suggestion that his run for New York Governor was on its last legs.

That attitude is typical for Mr. Weld, according to those who know him from his days in Massachusetts. “I do think he gets bored easily,” said long-serving Massachusetts State Representative Byron Rushing. “And he does have a pretty remarkable sense of humor. So you are never sure whether what he’s doing comes from interest, boredom or that he thinks it’s funny.”

Either way, the end of Mr. Weld’s current gubernatorial bid came quickly: Less than a week after his barbecue, he had been abandoned by the same party leaders who had encouraged him to get into the race—Governor George Pataki chief among them—and spared himself and the party any further pain by dropping out.

Mr. Weld’s problems with the party faithful were about more than his unapologetically intellectual style.

For one thing, there were the issues: Mr. Weld is a moderate on social issues such as abortion and gay rights, which put him at odds with the long-frustrated conservative base of the party.

Then there was the ill-timed meltdown of Decker College, a trade school where Mr. Weld was an executive in 2005. The school went bankrupt last fall amid highly publicized state and federal investigations into allegations of financial-aid fraud.

But for all of that, Mr. Weld’s allies saw something darker at work in his surprising defeat: a revolt against the party leadership, and the Governor, that doomed the campaign’s plan of running as the organizational champion.

Some of Mr. Faso’s supporters seemed to agree. “I think there was a negative reaction to what appeared to be some overt attempts to pressure people to support Weld,” said Michael O’Connor, who is chairman of the Warren County Republican organization.

Mr. Weld, for his part, insisted that he had no hard feelings about any of it. Here’s Mr. Weld recounting for reporters at his press conference the story of how Mr. Minarik and another former state chair, Alexander Treadwell, suddenly withdrew their support after his convention setback:

“I’m entirely comfortable with where things are, and I totally understand the impetus behind Chairman Minarik’s moves, and even Sandy Treadwell—who is the most dug-in Weld supporter you’d ever hope to find—called yesterday and said, ‘Look, I just don’t support people who are not endorsed by the party, so I’m taking my act over to John Faso. Hope you don’t mind.’ I said, ‘Sandy, I absolutely don’t mind at all.’”

It was a typical reaction for man who has always managed the trick of being haughty without being proud.

In 1998, after Mr. Weld suffered a stunning run of bad career fortune—he narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race to John Kerry in Massachusetts and then resigned his governorship to accept a post as ambassador to Mexico in the Clinton administration, only to have the appointment blocked in the Senate by a hostile Jesse Helms—he was asked by a columnist for The Washington Post if he wasn’t a perfect illustration of downward mobility.

“Absolutely!” Weld replied. “Downward mobility is the secret of the American system! That’s what makes room for upward mobility!”

Of course, that sort of optimism, while admirable, only goes so far.

Though New York Republican Party leaders insisted that Mr. Weld’s voluntary withdrawal from this year’s race would stand him in good stead for any future endeavors in state politics, the nature of his latest setback surely raises questions about whether politics is leaving him behind.

Mr. Weld’s friends, at least, doubt it.

“I don’t think staying in one place is Bill Weld’s style,” said Paul Cellucci, the former governor of Massachusetts who ran with Mr. Weld as lieutenant governor in 1990, when they staged a dramatic come-from-behind victory. “I can see him running for public office again or receiving a cabinet position from a President. We haven’t heard the last of Bill Weld.”

On the topic of forcing a primary against John Spencer, press secretary Morgan Ortagus-Dobbs said McFarland "clearly had the momentum at the convention" and that "she did it with the party leaders working against her." She added that McFarland was not "scared or intimidated" by the prospect of a primary contest.

"I'm from Florida and we have huge primary contests there," said Ortagus. " I don't know why it would be any different for New York."

New York's singularity seemed to be made achingly apparent to Bill Weld. We'll see how long McFarland can withstand the party's pressure.

-- Jason Horowitz