Politics on the Hudson

Four members of the GOP’s statewide ticket were in White Plains this afternoon, joining with a host of local candidates for a rally on the badly-in-need-of-a-paint-job porch of the headquarters of the Westchester Republican Party.

The message was pretty much the same from each of the candidates: Don’t believe the polls, Republicans are going to win tomorrow.

“Like all of my fellow running mates, we are absolutely confident of victory because when New Yorkers look at the candidates, when they compare the records of the people who are running for the various offices, they will know that we have the stronges team,” said attorney general candidate Jeanine Pirro, who returned to her home county after spending most of the past week upstate.

Also on hand were Senate candidate John Spencer, gubernatorial candidate John Faso and his running mate, C. Scott Vanderhoef. Among the locals were State Sen. Nicholas Spano and his brother, Assembly candidate Mike Spano. Bronx Republican Jay Savino, who is running for state Senate, was also on the porch.

Nick Spano had perhaps the best read-between-the-lines moment of the rally, when he stood stonefaced and silent as Spencer bashed “liberal Democrats” and described the ticket as a “conservative Republican ticket.”

Spano is engaged in a tight battle against Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins and desperately needs crossover votes from Democrats and independents. He has barely mentioned his party affiliation during the race.