Suffolk County executive Steve Levy, the Democrat looking to run as a Republican in the upcoming governor’s race, is preparing to announce late this week or early next week that he’ll be officially seeking the nomination, the Times reports tonight, based on information from three people “who have spoken to him in recent days.” Levy, extremely popular in Long Island (where he earned a crazy 96 percent of the vote in his last reelection bid), said he wanted to be perceived as “Scott Brown II” in this election, and he called Albany, in its current state, “a cesspool.”
“There really seems to be a void out there that I can fit perfectly,” Levy said “We’ve got to clean house, tear that place down and build it back in a cleaner, more efficient manner.”
Levy would have to square off against Representative Rick Lazio for the Republican nod, though Levy maintains an advantage in the funds department, with $4.1 million in his campaign account as of January to Lazio’s $640,000, according to the Times. Levy is still working this week to make sure he has “broad enough Republican support” to justify a serious campaign, the Times reports; he would need 51 percent of the vote at the Republican Party’s convention this summer to earn a spot on the ballot.
Planned Switch to G.O.P. Stirs Governor’s Race [NYT]
Update: The Times is reporting late tonight that Levy will announce in a news conference in Albany on Friday that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor.
