He’s ‘right’ to worry

GOPers’ exodus from gov race bugs Conservative Party boss

ALBANY – With two top GOP potential candidates for governor recently deciding to forgo a run, longtime state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long admits to worries over whether the remaining possibilities have the right stuff.

“Yes, there’s concern that we have to see how this comes together here,” Long said.

Republicans and conservatives were disappointed when their leading choice, wealthy business turnaround expert Harry Wilson, decided not to run, citing family considerations.

A few days later, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro announced that “at this time I will not be a Republican candidate for governor.”

That leaves Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua) and former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra as the only declared Republican candidates. State Senate Deputy Majority Leader John DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse) is also considering a run.

While Long (photo inset) is open to Kolb and DeFrancisco, he said they will have to first prove they can mount a credible challenge to Gov. Cuomo, meaning they have to craft the right message and show they are capable of raising significant amounts of money to get that message out.

“Both of them, in all fairness, have a lot to do to get some steam up to make a credible run,” Long said. “We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. Whether they can put a campaign together or not, the jury is out right now.”

Long said there is no chance his party would back Giambra, who donated money to Cuomo and Hillary Clinton and helped raise money for Mayor de Blasio.

“If I was going to give consideration to Joel, I might as well give consideration to endorsing Andrew Cuomo, that’s how farfetched it is,” Long said.

No Republican has won statewide office in New York without Conservative Party backing since 1974.

Long did not rule out the Conservative Party, for the first time since 1990, running a different candidate than the Republicans if the GOP doesn’t select a suitable candidate.

“It’s still too early for that, but that is never off the table,” he said of his party going it alone.

State and county Republican leaders from across the state are set to meet in Albany on Monday to discuss the governor’s race. Kolb, Gambia and DeFrancisco are slated to attend. Kolb and DeFrancisco are also expected to address the Conservative Party at the end of the month. lll Molinaro may not be running for governor “at this time,” but that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the ticket. A source said Molinaro hasn’t ruled out running for lieutenant governor. He and Kolb had previously spoken about possibly running as a ticket. And Long noted that Molinaro saying he is not a candidate for governor “at this time” could leave the door open for him to change his mind if “if he saw a path where he could raise enough money.” lll Eyebrows were raised last week when Cuomo’s hand-picked state Democratic party executive director, Geoff Berman, released a statement trashing state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan’s response to the governor’s State of the State address.

Cuomo and Flanagan, a Republican, mostly have enjoyed a good relationship, and the hostile statement from Berman accusing Flanagan and his “cronies” of “empty rhetoric” and of being “total phonies” surprised many insiders.

Sources say Cuomo was livid that Flanagan — a day before the speech — released an agenda promising a “top-to-bottom” review of the governor’s economic development programs.

But a Democratic Party official said the attack on Flanagan “was about what it said it was about — the Republicans defending Trump and his assault on New York taxpayers.”

A source close to Flanagan said the attacks are “wrong on the facts.”