Ed Cox’s survival as chairman of the state Republican Party is coming under question after he recruited Democrat Steve Levy to join the GOP and run for governor, even though Rick Lazio has been campaigning for months. At first it looked as if Levy would win hands down, but that, as I wrote in in my story this week, is no longer a sure thing. .
In an interview for that story early this week I asked Cox if his political career would be over if Lazio, not Levy, wins the nomination.
Cox bristled at the idea that Levy needed to win in order for him to stay on as chairman, telling me that the vice chairmen of the state party “wanted to have a party that stood on its own and is not the creature of any single politician.”
“A party that works with them, reacts to them, but at the same time, is independent,” Cox said. Should a Republican win in November, “that governor may think he or she controls the party, but if that happens, you end up with a much weaker party.”
