PRESS RELEASE:

New York, New York... June 2, 2010 - During the final day of the New York State Republican Convention, Chataqua County Executive Greg Edwards was unanimously nominated as the Republican Party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Following the Edwards nomination, the State Committee men and women elected to send Bruce Blakeman and David Malpass to a primary in September, though Blakeman became the party's official designee, having received a majority in round 2 of the voting.

Rick Lazio, the Party's nominee for Governor, had chosen Greg Edwards as his running mate in May, so that Edwards' nomination solidifies the Lazio/Edwards ticket for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.



"Greg has a terrific reputation as a result of his solid record as County Executive in Chataqua. New Yorkers need someone with a history of creative economic development, especially given the dire financial circumstances we're in. New York has been dug into a hole by the one-party Democratic rule in Albany and the Democrats' mismanagement of the economy."

The three Republicans vying for the party's nomination for the Senate to take on Kirsten Gillibrand received the following percentages during the party's designation vote in round 2 of the voting process : Joe DioGuardi - 8.98%, David Malpass - 39.61 %, Bruce Blakeman - 51.42%.

Bruce Blakeman is an attorney who has experience in both the public and private sectors solving legal, financial and budgetary problems. Among his many accomplishments, Blakeman is a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey where he served as vice chair of the agency's security committee. Blakeman's national security credentials are exemplified by the fact that he serves on the faculty of Long Island University as a senior fellow in the Department of Homeland Security Studies and is the associate director and deputy counsel of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation.



David Malpass, a nationally recognized fiscal conservative economist who has advocates for pro-growth tax and budget policies. Among his many credentials, Malpass has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury under President Ronald Reagan, as a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under President George H. W. Bush, served on Congress's blue-ribbon panel on budget scoring in 2002-2003, was the Republican staff director of Congress's Joint Economic Committee in 1989-1990 and was Senior Tax Analyst at the Senate Budget Committee in 1984-1986. He is a board member of the Economic Club of New York and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Malpass regularly authors articles for Forbes Magazine and the Wall Street journal.

"I congratulate Bruce Blakeman for winning enough votes to become the party's designee for Senate," said Chairman Cox. "In contrast to the Democratic Party's line-of-succession driven nomination process, however, where candidates inherit their thrones during theatrical re-nomination processes, the Republican Party of New York has entrusted everyday New Yorkers from across the state to select either Bruce Blakeman or David Malpass to take on Kirsten Gillibrand in November. Gillibrand has a fundamental misunderstanding of the needs of New York State, and both Malpass and Blakeman are far superior candidates and will stand up every day in the Senate to defend the interests of our great state."