By Dan Murphy
It’s a well-known fact that the New York State republican party has been in a constant state of decline for the past 16 years, since 2002, when then-Gov. George Pataki won his third re-election as governor and became the last republican to win statewide office. Democratic enrollment in NYS now doubles the GOP enrollment. Older New Yorkers are moving out and younger democrats are moving in.
Ed Cox has been NYS GOP chairman since 2009. Cox, the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon, has presided over the decline, and has been dealt a bad hand. But in the view of many republicans in Westchester, he has managed the party well in a difficult situation.
But not every New Yorker agrees, including, perhaps, the most famous New York republican – President Donald Trump. Trump is said to have wanted Cox removed from office the moment he was elected president in 2016; Cox did not support Trump in the republican primary for president, and the two have never been close.
So when an effort to oust Cox began in Buffalo, with Erie County Chairman Nick Langworthy running for state chairman, former and current White House officials backed the effort, including former Yorktown High School graduate Dan Scavino, the White House director of digital media.
According to the NY Times, Scavino spoke with NY republicans, passing on the message that it was time for Cox to go, and that Trump “couldn’t understand why the party lost control of the State Senate last year, according to one person familiar with the discussion.”
Many say they believe the reason that republicans lost the State Senate in New York in 2018 was because of the “blue wave” of progressive democratic support that flooded Westchester, NYS and the country and resulted in democrats retaking the U.S. House of Representatives. Many credit the “blue wave” in New York on a backlash to President Trump.
The feud between Trump and Cox goes back to 2014 and the race for governor. A few republicans – most notably Carl Paladino, who ran and lost badly as the GOP choice for governor in 2010 – tossed out the idea of Trump running for governor.
Trump was never going to run for governor, but wanted to be wooed anyway, from the leadership of the party – most of all Chairman Cox. Instead of dealing with fantasy, Cox had to deal with political reality, and that reality was that the best choice republicans had for governor was Rob Astorino, then the Westchester County executive. Trump responded by saying Cox “doesn’t know how to win – he’s never won anything,”
“Cox went with Astorino and didn’t kiss Trump’s butt,” said one Westchester republican. “It was the right thing to do, but Trump never forgot it and that’s why Cox is out.”
If you contrast Cox’ troubles with Trump with Langworthy, who was an early Trump supporter, the outcome of who was to be the next chairman of the NYS GOP shouldn’t be a surprise. “Look, the president of the United States should have the right to pick who the chairman of his party is from his home state,” said another county republican. “Trump did that and now he has Langworthy. Let’s see where that gets him.”
Langworthy, 38, becomes the youngest NY GOP chairman in history. Some see him as the puppet of Paladino, who was another early Trump supporter, and often disagreed with Trump.
“I think we’re going to show a renewed fighting spirit,” said Langworthy. “We had a tremendous setback in 2018 and it’s time for us to rebuild, retool and revitalize the Republican Party across the State of New York. My election will represent a generational change for our party, and in every race we lost, we’re going to go right back at it.”
Langworthy has one year to reorganize the party before 2020, when the State Senate is up for re-election, as is the several congressional races that republicans lost in New York. But all of these races will include Trump on top of the ticket, which many see as a negative in New York.
But not Langworthy, who said: “This (2020) is going to be a pocketbook election, and the Trump economy is on fire. The president is going to be much more popular (in New York) than people think.”
Cox, once he realized he didn’t have the votes, left gracefully and was given a ceremonial post in Trump’s 2020 campaign. “Ensuring President Trump is re-elected is the most critical task at hand and I’m honored to take on the important role of helping deliver the resources he needs for a huge victory next year,” said Cox. “Serving as chairman of the NYS GOP over the last 10 years has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my life, and I will continue to actively help elect more Republicans here in New York. I will be fulfilling the remainder of my term, and in the process, work to unify the party and ensure a smooth transition for Chairman Langworthy.”
The election of Langworthy over Cox also uncovers an upstate vs. downstate disagreement in the NYS GOP. The suburban counties of Westchester, Putnam, and Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island, all stood with Cox.
Westchester GOP Chairman Doug Colety said: “Over the past 10 years, Chairman Cox has played an invaluable role in our electoral success in Westchester County. Under Chairman Cox’s leadership, the state committee has raised more than $52 million and developed a strong local assistance program that has helped us in races all across the state, and right here in Westchester County.
“Chairman Cox has been dedicated to serving our party as a full-time chairman, taking no salary, donating his own personal resources, and leveraging his national relationships to help strengthen our party,” said Colety before Langworthy’s election.
Some Westchester republicans are now starting to question whether Colety should be replaced. “He is never heard from in the media or in the public. ,” said a prominent Westchester republican. “And if you only have four members on the BOL and no countywide elected republicans, somebody needs to be that voice. Doug has been silent; that was OK when you had Astorino as the voice of the GOP in Westchester. But Rob is gone.
“Now the NYS GOP is in the hands of Nick Langworthy, and Carl Paladino, and President Donald Trump,” said another Westchester republican. “Let’s see how many times any of them comes to Westchester.”
Paladino will now have to dip into his fortune, something he has been reluctant to do, to raise the funds needed to run a statewide political party, when most of the resources are downstate, on Wall Street and in suburban counties like Westchester.
Last year, longtime NYS Conservative Party Chair Mike Long stepped down, of his own accord. Now, Cox steps down, but New York is still deep blue. Will things for republicans and conservative-minded New Yorker’s get better? Or can it get worse?
