New York G.O.P. Clashes Over Candidates for 2006

[brooklynite]

As Gov. George E. Pataki prepares to reveal his political plans for 2006, New York State's Republican Party is riven by conflicts in finding formidable candidates for three key races next year: for governor, attorney general and the United States Senate seat held by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Some potential Republican candidates have accused the state party of taking a top-down approach to picking their electoral prospects. Several Republican hopefuls and their supporters are sniping at rivals and trying to undercut them, with some even playing up chats with White House officials to bolster their candidacies. Several county Republican leaders, meanwhile, complain that the state party is making bad calls, favoring Republicans with deep pockets instead of those with good messages.

This unusual early state of anxiety about 2006 has built up over months of silence from Mr. Pataki, whose campaigns have been a center of gravity for the party for a dozen years. He has signaled that he will decide on whether to run for a fourth term in the next few weeks, and if he does not run - as is the conventional wisdom in the capital - Republicans fear the Democrats could win control of all major statewide offices for the first time in generations, particularly with Attorney General Eliot Spitzer running for governor. Furthermore, midterm elections often go badly for the party that holds power in Washington, and President Bush's poll ratings are currently low.

"There's a great deal of concern out here in the grass roots about 2006, so much that I told Governor Pataki, 'you need to run,' " said Robert Smith, the party chairman in Onondaga County, a Republican stronghold.

...snip...

"I'm worried that without any big names running, like a Pataki or a Giuliani, we could lose all of the big races next year," said Lore Koppel, the Montgomery County chairwoman. "I wish the governor would make up his mind so we could get going, because I can't support anyone until he decides first."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/18/nyregion/18repubs.html?
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You know, as far back as I can remember (mid 80's at least), the Republican Party has never allowed an open contest for its nominations.