ALBANY -– Just a couple weeks after saying he had "no plans" to endorse Carl Paladino, former Gov. George E. Pataki jumped in with an endorsement of the Buffalo businessman with only 18 hours to go before polls open Tuesday.
“One-party rule has led New York State to the brink of ruin. The ethical and fiscal morass that Democratic control has wrought upon our state government can only end if we re-establish a vigorous two-party system. The best way to achieve this is through competitive statewide candidates," Pataki said in a statement this afternoon.
The endorsement wasn’t a 100 percent backing of Paladino’s positions, the former governor noted. “While I don't agree with my party’s nominee for governor on any number of issues, we do agree on three essential Republican–Conservative core beliefs: the need to cut taxes, reduce spending and shrink the size of government. It is with these bedrock beliefs in mind that today I endorse Carl Paladino for governor."
Pataki has been making rumblings of trying to be some sort of voice in the national GOP efforts in 2012 to try to retake the White House, and has been courting some tea party movement leaders in other states in recent months.
-- Tom Precious
