Politics on the Hudson

Niagara County GOP chairman Henry Wojtaszek has ended his bid to be state GOP chairman, leaving Ed Cox as the sole candidate for the chairmanship.

“Today, I formally suspend my efforts to become the next New York State Republican Chairman,” he wrote in an email this afternoon to supporters. “I am encouraged that Ed Cox already has announced substantial financial commitments to help rebuild our party. I look forward to a party structure that will help us win races at the local level and give a greater voice to individual county chairmen.”

Cox had this to say.

“I thank Henry Wojtaszek for his commitment to seeing us move forward united and strong. Henry has a bright future in this party,” part of Cox’s statement reads.

Wojtaszek said he started late in seeking support for the chairmanship out of respect to outgoing Chairman Joseph Mondello, who didn’t decide whether to seek another term until Cox was well on his way to securing the votes from county committeemen.

“As you know, politics is to a large extent about timing. My preparations to seek this post were well underway earlier in the year when I put aside my legal career. Out of respect for his years of service to our party, I waited for Chairman Mondello to reveal his plans for the coming election before formally announcing my candidacy,” Wojtaszek wrote. “It’s clear now that the way that timeline worked out was detrimental to my efforts.”

Wojtaszek’s decision is a blow to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s effort to back Wojtaszek, and could possibly weigh on his decision whether to run for governor in 2010.

But county chairmen, including Cox, have still encouraged Giuliani to run.

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