Rick Lazio likely to shrug off painful loss to Carl Paladino and remain in race for governor

Despite his humiliating loss last week to Carl Paladino in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Rick Lazio is likely to reject calls that he quit the race and cede the state Conservative Party line to his former foe.

Lazio was at first "disappointed and a little bit hurt" by his lopsided loss to the mad-as-hell Buffalo businessman and not inclined to keep fighting, according to a source familiar with conversations Lazio had with supporters.

But after several days, Lazio had changed his tune and is now "heavily leaning" toward staying in the race, the source said.

He spoke of loyalty to state Conservative Chairman Mike Long, who needs a gubernatorial candidate to get at least 50,000 votes on Row D in November to keep his party alive for another four years.

Lazio also feels there's "room for a moderate voice in a race when one candidate is a nut and the other is an Albany insider," said the source.

"It's such a bizarre year and such a bizarre time, and, let's face it, Carl Paladino is one sentence from dropping the N-word at any moment."

That's good news for Democratic gubernatorial front-runner Andrew Cuomo: It would force Lazio and Paladino to split votes on the right in a state where Democrats already enjoy a roughly 5-to-3 enrollment edge.

Lazio's campaign has made no statement since the Sept. 14 primary. The candidate took several days off to be with his family, which would have to sign off on his decision to return to the campaign trail, the source said.

Lazio is expected to announce his plans at a dinner in the Syracuse area tonight at which Mitt Romney, Massachusetts' former governor, 2008 GOP presidential candidate and possible 2012 contender, is the keynote speaker.

Long said Sunday he hadn't spoken to Lazio since late last week, but he expressed confidence the former congressman will stay in the race. He pledged to provide Lazio financial support to counter Paladino's personal fortune and Cuomo's $23.6million campaign war chest.

Even if Lazio doesn't run, Conservative Party leaders won't likely endorse Paladino, Long said.

"While he strikes a chord on lots of issues that we stand for and believe in, they think, quite frankly, he is really irresponsible in his demeanor, in his character," Long said. "They don't want to have it written in history that he was their candidate."

The Paladino campaign is still trying to figure out what to do about its lieutenant governor problem. Lazio's running mate, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards, defeated Paladino's preferred No. 2, former City Council Minority Leader Tom Ognibene, in the GOP primary.

Paladino aides said they might seek to exploit a weakness in the Democratic ticket by bumping Edwards in favor of a woman or an African-American. The statewide Democratic slate includes just one woman - U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand - and no minorities.

Edwards is still Lazio's running mate on the Conservative line. Ognibene is still Paladino's running mate on the independent Taxpayers Party line that Paladino created through a petition drive. Candidates cannot add up all votes from multiple lines unless the tickets are identical.

There's also a "strong possibility" Paladino will seek to run with Edwards. "He's a good guy with a calm sense of professionalism," a Paladino aide said. "Some would say that offers a contrast to Carl Paladino's style. That's not lost on us."

Edwards and Paladino had breakfast in Buffalo on Friday and are expected to speak again today. The deadline for getting candidates off ballot lines by nominating them for state Supreme Court judgeships is Sept. 27.