ALBANY -- Former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, billing himself as a moderate candidate in the mold of former three-term Gov. George Pataki.
He is one of three GOP gubernatorial hopefuls who met with party leaders Monday in Albany as the party continues to search for candidates to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo and fill out its statewide slate.
"Republicans in New York state have been losing in the last three cycles or so," Giambra said in an interview Friday with the USA Today Network's Albany Bureau.
"We need to change the message. We need to serve something different. And I believe I'm the different Republican who has the best chance of winning."
Giambra is hoping he can convince party leaders that they need to pick a moderate Republican to run against the Democratic governor rather than one that is more aligned with conservatives.
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, is the only announced Republican candidate for governor, while Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, is also considering it.
Giambra, who turned 61 Monday, served as Erie County executive from 2000 through 2007 and has since been a lobbyist and a businessman.
He hasn't done a formal announcement of his candidacy, but has confirmed his intentions to reporters at an event last week in Buffalo.
Giambra said he is pro-choice on abortion and supports same-sex marriage, but also considers himself a fiscal conservative.
"Corporate welfare hasn't worked," Giambra said of Cuomo's economic-development incentives, which total about $8 billion a year.
"The attempts to try to artificially stimulate the marketplace appears to be a failure."
Giambra, though, appears to face a skeptical GOP that is usually aligned with the Conservative Party on statewide candidates.
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, makes the case for why he's the best candidate to take on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. Kolb's comments came after Cuomo's State of the State address on Jan. 3. Jon Campbell / Albany Bureau
Giambra has donated to Cuomo and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the past and once organized a fundraiser for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a liberal Democrat, the Buffalo News reported.
In 2016, he helped lead a statewide group called Republicans for Hillary.
“If I was going to give consideration to Joel, I might as well give consideration to endorsing Andrew Cuomo, that's how farfetched it is,” state Conservative Party chairman Mike Long told the Daily News.
Giambra, though, has appeared unfazed by the criticism, saying it is time for the GOP to consider someone who can better win over Democratic voters.
New York has twice as many Democrats as Republicans, and a Republican hasn't won statewide since Pataki's third term in 2002.
"I am spending most of my time trying to convince Republican leaders that I have an ability to be very successful in the general election because of my past performance in being able to attract Democratic voters," Giambra said.
Moderate Republicans running for governor have faced backlash at the party's conventions in recent elections, losing to more conservative candidates.
In 2006, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld lost the party's nomination to John Faso, now a congressman in the Hudson Valley. Four years later, Carl Paladino, a Buffalo businessman, was able to beat former Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio in a primary.
Republicans suffered setbacks in recent weeks when their likely top pick Harry Wilson, a Westchester financier, decided against a run. Days later, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro also announced he would not run for governor.
State GOP chairman Ed Cox said last week he's still confident the party will have a strong slate of candidates, and he didn't rule out Molinaro appearing on the ticket as a potential lieutenant governor candidate.
Kolb said he has stood up to Cuomo's policies as Assembly minority leader, but said it's his experience in the private and public sectors that make him a strong candidate.
“My combined public sector, private sector experience – I don't think anyone else has that combination,” Kolb said Wednesday. “I've been very outspoken over the years about policies that I think don't work for New York. I have a voting record that sustains that.”
The state Democratic Committee knocked Republicans in New York, tying them to the federal tax policy approved by Congress last month.
"The New York Republican Party and Conservative party are lost. Even worse they are now morphing into the anti-New York party," said state Democratic Committee executive director Geoff Berman in a statement Monday.
Includes reporting by Albany Bureau correspondent Jon Campbell.