Lanza (R) looking like he is out, Republicans in shambles

Earlier tonight I downgraded Lanza's likelihood that he will jump in the race. Previously there were a few comments that seemed to have tell tale signs that he wasn't sold on running for Congress. Now comes this;

"Lanza said he's unlikely to run for the seat his good friend, Fossella, is giving up, but has not yet officially made up his mind."

This would probably be bad news for Sen. Marty Golden's candidacy as well. Lanza was the top tier candidate coming out of the Senate for this race. Worse for Republicans is if they lose Lanza they are clearly on third tier candidates. As the latest speculation post shows now people simply registered as Republican with no experience are being name dropped. That is desperation. via the NY Times;

“We’re hurting,” said Guy V. Molinari, the former Staten Island borough president and dean of the island’s Republicans. “I think that the Congressional seat is probably the most coveted seat locally. And yet, with the vacancy approaching, those that we thought would be the leading candidates in this case, particularly the incumbent elected officials, are taking a pass.”

As if that wasn't bad enough disagreements by factions within the Republican Party may doom the Party and veto any legitimate candidate before the election gets under way. Via the NY Times;

In fact, Mr. Molinari described Mr. Straniere’s chances of being supported by the Republican leadership as “impossible.” He said that Mr. Straniere “would not be at all acceptable to the Republican Party. I would speculate that 98 percent of the Republican County Committee would say, ‘No dice.’ They would rather vote for a Democrat than for Straniere.”

snip

“If they can’t run a front-line candidate,” Mr. Flanagan said, “it becomes: Advantage Democrats.” [emphasis mine]