Onondaga County Endorsement Helps Put Ed Cox Over the Top

This fall, New York State’s Republican county chairs and county committee people will elect a new State Chairman. Current Chairman Joe Mondello, of Nassau County, will be vacating the state’s top party post. Richard Nixon son-in-law and John McCain New York State presidential campaign coordinator Ed Cox came out early to with an announcement that he would be running for State Chairman and racked up a lot of endorsements and pledges early. Niagara County Chairman Henry Wojtaszek waited until Mondello officially announced that he wouldn’t be running again before he started an official campaign for the post. Even though he had the backing of a motley crew of New York Republicans (including Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Joe Bruno and Joe Mondello), Wojtaszek began campaigning for the post too late to build any momentum. Cox had already convinced more than half of the county chairmen in the state to join his team. Onondaga County Republican Chairman John DeSpirito announced his support for Ed Cox and Wojtaszek withdrew from the race a week later. Ed Cox will cruise into the position as Republicans across the state are suffering. Republicans hold no statewide positions and lost control of the State Senate last year for the first time in decades. Republican representation in Congress has dropped to a measly three seats in New York’s 29-member delegation and the upcoming special election in the 23rd congressional district could give the Democrat’s another pickup. Ed Cox has a long, hard road ahead of him.