Ed Lurie has been quietly planning for over a year to overthrow Ed Cox as chairman of the state Republican Party.
But the former executive director of the state party told The Politicker last week that he is “deactivating” his campaign, citing a complacency among county chairs about the direction of the party and the difficulties of fundraising.
“I’m still out there, but it’s not an organized campaign at this point,” he said. “It’s really a money factor at this point.”
Despite major gains at the polls in 2010, a year which saw the New York G.O.P. flipped more Congressional seats than any state in the nation and retook the State Senate, there remains widespread dissatisfaction within some Republican circles over Cox’s leadership. Last month, Cox’s top deputy, executive director Tom Basile, announced his resignation.
The party will meet in September to pick a state chairman for a two-year term. Cox has indicated he would like to serve again.
Lurie said that he was confident that somebody would emerge to take on Cox, and added that he hoped to stay involved in party politics.
“I know I can’t just sit on the sidelines,” he said. “We’ll see what comes available and see where it goes.”
