page_title: 2010 New York gubernatorial election
section_title: Republican Party
hierarchical_section_title: 2010 New York gubernatorial election / Candidates / Republican Party
caption_attribution_description: English: Rick Lazio, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-New York, 1993-2001)
context_page_description: The New York gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, chose not to run for a full term. Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo defeated Republican Carl Paladino to become the next Governor of New York.
context_section_description: On September 21, 2009, former Long Island Congressman and 2000 Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rick Lazio declared his 2010 candidacy for governor of New York; Lazio made a formal announcement in Albany, New York the following day. Lazio was the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
  Other potential 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidates included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Erie County Executive Chris Collins. In April 2009, a Quinnipiac poll showed Giuliani slightly ahead of incumbent David Paterson. Giuliani stated in June 2009 that he was considering running. In December 2009, Giuliani announced that he would not run and would instead back Lazio. On January 26, 2010, Collins announced that he would not run; he did not endorse Lazio, and instead encouraged the Party to choose someone else.
  On March 19, 2010, Steve Levy, the county executive of Suffolk County, announced that he would run for Governor as a Republican. Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox threw his support to Levy. 
  After Collins passed on the race, activist Rus Thompson persuaded developer Carl Paladino to consider running for Governor. In March 2010, Paladino was strongly considering a run and was said to be willing to spend $10,000,000 of his own money on a campaign. He advised state Republican Party chairman Edward F. Cox of his intentions. Paladino announced his candidacy on April 5, 2010.
  At the June 2010 Republican Convention, Lazio won the support of 59% of the delegates and was designated the Party’s candidate for Governor. Levy "received 28 percent [of the vote] on the first ballot, squeaking above the 25 percent threshold needed to force a second vote on his authorization. While he [had] signed a Republican registration form, Levy [remained] an enrolled Democrat. As such, a separate vote authorizing his appearance in a primary was held: Levy garnered the support of 42.66 percent of the delegates, short of the 50 percent required". Paladino received eight percent of the vote, and real estate consultant Myers Mermel received four percent. On July 15, 2010, Paladino mounted a primary challenge against Lazio by filing petitions. He filed enough petitions to be placed on the ballot for the Republican primary.
  By September 2010, Lazio and Paladino were nearly tied in the most polls, with Paladino having a significant edge in Upstate New York and Lazio leading heavily in Downstate New York. Paladino was supported heavily by the Tea Party movement. On September 14, 2010, Paladino upset Lazio by a nearly two-to-one margin in the primary.
caption: Rick Lazio ran for the Republican nomination, but lost.
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