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Langworthy Takes Over New York State GOP

N.Y. State Republican Chair Nick Langworthy
Karen DeWitt
/
New York State Public Radio
Erie County GOP Chair Nick Langworthy will be the new head of the Republican Party in New York.

There’s going to be a change at the top in the state’s Republican Party. Erie County GOP Chair Nick Langworthy has gathered the support of the majority of county chairs, and will be replacing Ed Cox In July. The two met with the media to talk about the transition.

On the surface, it is an amicable change of leadership.

Ed Cox, who oversaw the party for the past ten years, and is the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon, says he’s pleased with his new position as part of a team to help finance President Trump’s reelection effort.

“I’m somehow attracted to presidential politics,” said Cox, who said Nixon’s campaign in 1968 realigned the country, and that Trump’s win in 2016 was a major upset.  

Under Cox’s tenure, the party did not win an election for statewide office. Republicans have not held a major statewide elected office since 2006, when former GOP Governor George Pataki decided not to seek a fourth term in office. Last November the GOP lost, by a significant margin, its hold on the State Senate, and now has just 23 members, compared to the 38 in the Democratic leadership conference.

Despite that, Langworthy did not criticize Cox or his leadership skills, and thanked him for his dedication to the party. He instead spoke of a game plan to grow the GOP in New York, and he promised to show a “new fighting spirit,” starting with the State Senate races next year.

“We lost this majority in one election,” Langworthy said. “I think we can gain this majority back in one election.”

Senator Micheal Gianaris is chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and helped oversee many of the Democratic senators’ victories last November. He does not give the GOP much of a chance in making gains in 2020 in New York.

“He’s half right, they did lose the election,” said Gianaris. “Where he’s wrong is the possibility that they might take it back.”

Gianaris says he expects a “huge Democratic vote” in 2020, in response to President Trump at the top of the ticket.  

Republicans face an uphill battle to win seats in New York. President Trump, who will be at the top of the ticket, is deeply unpopular in the state. GOP membership in New York has been in decline for decades.

Langworthy, who worked for former western New York Congressman Tom Reynolds, and supported Carl Paladino for governor in 2010, says he knows that his first task is boosting enrollment in the Republican Party.

But he says he sees a path to winning races, and it’s based on economic issues, like lowering taxes in the state, which are among the highest in the nation. He says that strategy has been successful in winning several recent elections in Erie County, where Republicans are outnumbered.

And Langworthy says President Trump “is much more popular than people think.”

“This is going to be a pocketbook election, and the economy is on fire,” Langworthy said.  

The new GOP chair says his ultimate aim is to mount a serious challenge to Democrats for the governor’s race, in 2022.

“My mission and goal is to get us to the point where a Republican occupies the second floor of the state Capitol,” said Langworthy, referring to the floor that houses the executive chamber in the state Capitol.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has not said whether he intends to seek a fourth term as governor, but is actively raising money for his campaign fund. A senior advisor to Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, is skeptical of the GOP’s chances.

“My goal is also to be taller and a shortstop for the Mets,” Azzopardi quipped.

Republican leaders in the legislature, who are in the minority in both houses, say they are excited about having Langworthy in charge. Senate GOP Leader John Flanagan said, in a statement, that he looks forward to working with the new chair to counter what he says are “radical New York City Democrats” in the legislature.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb says “it’s time for a change” in party leadership, and believes that Langworthy will rebuild and “revitalize” the party.    

Langworthy officially takes over in July, when a formal vote will be held by party membership. He and Cox say they intend to work together until then.   

Langworthy, at 38, will be the youngest GOP chair in state history, says he plans to get younger people, and women more involved in the party, and wants to make it more ethnically diverse.

Karen has covered state government and politics for New York State Public Radio, a network of 10 New York and Connecticut stations, since 1990. She is also a regular contributor to the statewide public television program about New York State government, New York Now. She appears on the reporter’s roundtable segment, and interviews newsmakers.