County GOP leaders expect Astorino to enter race

ALBANY – With Rob Astorino soon expected to announce his political intentions, several prominent Republican county leaders said Sunday they fully expect the Westchester County executive to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Astorino, a Republican who has been courting support over the past few months for a potential gubernatorial run, has said he decided to run for governor this year.

On Sunday, a handful of GOP leaders said they anticipate Astorino will officially become a candidate within days.

"I think it's all going to start to roll out this week, and we're excited about this," said Doug Colety, the Westchester County GOP chairman. "We definitely think we can win this."

Astorino has traveled the state since he was re-elected in November and has met with several county-level party leaders in recent days.

He attended a Broome County Republican Party fundraiser on Friday, lunched with Rockland County GOP Chairman Vincent Reda on Thursday and was scheduled to meet with Colety on Sunday.

All three said they believe Astorino will jump in the race.

"He gave a strong indication that he will be announcing his intentions to run for governor this week," Reda said.

Datta said he spoke with Astorino at the fundraiser Friday, where Astorino delivered the keynote address at a Binghamton hotel.

"I certainly hope he's going to run," Datta said. "But honestly, I think he's going to run. Listening to his speech in front of our 400 people on Friday, he sounded like a candidate."

When asked whether Astorino told him privately if he was going to run, Datta declined comment.

Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Astorino, said the county executive will indeed announce his decision this week. But she declined comment on his conversations with county GOP leaders.

State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox declined comment, while a spokesman for the state Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment.

In various interviews in recent weeks, Astorino has said he's strongly leaning toward entering the race. He opened up an "Astorino for Governor" campaign account last month, a move that allowed him to raise funds under the higher contribution limits for a statewide race.

Still unresolved, however, is the potential candidacy of Donald Trump, the celebrity billionaire and host of "The Apprentice."

Several Republican leaders and lawmakers have publicly courted Trump to run for governor, but the real-estate mogul has said repeatedly he would only do it with the unanimous support of the Republican Party -- an unlikely feat.

A supporter of Astorino's previous county executive bids, Trump has said he doesn't believe Astorino has the money or name recognition to mount a credible challenge to Cuomo, who has consistently performed well in opinion polls.

Michael Cohen, Trump's executive vice president and special counsel, said Sunday the "vast majority of the GOP leadership" wants to see Trump run for governor.

"It is undeniable that (Trump) is the logical and only choice if the GOP truly wants to win the governor's race," Cohen said.

Monroe County GOP Chairman Bill Reilich, the Greece town supervisor, said he still wants Trump to enter the race. But if Trump doesn't run and Astorino does, Reilich said he would support Astorino.

"I think we're very fortunate to have two fine candidates," Reilich said.