After 10 years as state Republican chairman and a string of losses at the ballot box, Ed Cox is leaving his job. The son-in-law of Richard Nixon, Cox will fill out the remainder of his term, which will expire in July, then take a job in President Donald Trump's reelection campaign as finance chair for New York.


Erie County Republican Chair Nick Langworthy will replace Cox.

(After building support among country chairs, Erie County Republican Chair Nick Langworthy is set to take over as the New York state Republican Party's chair.)

"I am not unhappy about the fact that we are going to, shall we say, shake things up a bit on the Republican side with new, younger leadership — upstate leadership," said Republican State Sen. James Seward of Oneonta.

In a quest to unseat Cox, Langworthy has been building up support among Republican county chairs across the state for months. He finally secured enough votes to make it very difficult for Cox to remain in the position.

Republicans have not won a statewide race since Gov. George Pataki in 2002, and last year they lost their last bastion of power, the state Senate, with Democrats winning 39 seats. Only 32 are needed to form a majority.

"We certainly haven't had a great record in the state in recent years," Republican State Sen. Pat Gallivan of Erie County. "We look at the Senate and how we lost it last year. There were other factors, of course, that played into it. But, often times, new blood is good."

"Serving as Chairman of the NYGOP over the last ten years has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my life, and I will continue to actively help elect more Republicans here in New York," Cox said in a statement.

"What we need to be doing is attracting young people to the party, specifically. We need to do a much better job at registering people for upcoming elections," State Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan said. "The way we need to do that is by fighting every day to get out our message."


Some Republicans said they were surprised by how much attitudes toward Trump affected their local candidates in the 2018 elections. Both Langworthy and Cox are expected in Albany on Tuesday to meet and discuss the transition.

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