July 1, 2019
City & State New York
15
Nick Langworthy was an early and avid supporter of Trump’s presidential bid.
OFFICE OF NICK LANGWORTHY
subsequent inability to get his message out. But, when you can’t get closer than 20 points in a race with a good candidate running against a governor with faltering poll numbers and corruption scandals swirling around his administration, it suggests a fundamental problem that will not be easy to overcome. Langworthy does not deny this. He and nearly every person who spoke with City & State for this story recognized that the party is at a nadir not reached in decades. “I hope that this is what rock bottom looks like,” Langworthy said. “I think we’re at a point where the Republicans know we’re all in this together and we’ve got nowhere to go but up.” PUTTING A POSITIVE SPIN on his party’s predicament, Langworthy views its position as an “opportunity.” It’s a word he deploys often. Had Molinaro won, Langworthy would no longer have pursued the state chairmanship, he said, as the chair of the governor’s party takes orders from the governor’s mansion. But what does Langworthy want to do with his control? It seems his only strategic pivot from the Cox era is logistical: an emphasis on trying to improve the party’s prospects from the bottom up rather than the top down. “We’re talking about a full rebuild of the party, which is working with every single county leader, municipal leader, to find out what works best in your backyard,” Langworthy said. “What can the state Republican Party do to help you in your mission?” Langworthy is an expert at working a room, sticking around long enough to hear from everyone who wants his ear – but also knowing how to move on so other people don’t leave, frustrated they never got to talk to him. At Erie County GOP events, such as fundraisers and election night parties, there is no doubt who is in charge. He’s the emcee, the cheerleader, the center of attention. When he enters a room, heads turn, and the chatter picks up. His plan is to export that type of attentiveness, that type of energy, across the state. “Right now, we are a loose configuration of 62 counties,” he said. What he envisions is a well-connected, flexible grassroots machine. When the state Senate leadership shows up to an event, whether it’s in Brooklyn or Oneonta, he wants a team of dedicated staffers on the ground to roll out the red carpet and escort them around town, just as he has worked to do in Erie County since taking the helm nine years ago. “Our infrastructure has crumbled,”
he said. “It’s time to go rebuild the infrastructure.” While Langworthy is an unabashed supporter of the president and an ally of Paladino, his style is more subtle. He sometimes attacks Democrats, but largely sticks to the policy points and usually does not make it personal. He doesn’t share Trump’s penchant for self-aggrandizement, preferring the behind-the-scenes work of crunching the numbers and organizing. Despite his obvious potential, Langworthy has never run for public office. “It’s just not something I’ve looked towards doing in a long time,” he said. Democrats certainly don’t see Langworthy as a lightweight. State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said the energy and enthusiasm that he brings will pose new challenges for Democrats, noting the cyclical nature of political trends. “I never look to underestimate anyone,” Jacobs said. Jeremy Zellner, Langworthy’s Democratic counterpart in Erie County, praised Langworthy for his love of his family and his work ethic. But both Zellner and Jacobs see his ties to Trump, especially on the statewide level, to be playing right into their hands. “The only thing I could hope for is that he bring President Trump to New York as many times as he possibly could, because there’s nothing better for the Democratic base than to hear the name Trump, except for seeing him,” Jacobs said. Zellner said he has no doubt that Langworthy will leave no opportunities on the table and that he will do everything in his power to bolster the Republican brand in every corner of the state. But that brand is already out there, and it isn’t selling in enough places or to enough people to help the Republicans out of the hole they are in. “It’s almost like taking the wheel of the Titanic,” Zellner said, “after you’ve hit the iceberg.” LANGWORTHY AND OTHER REPUBLICANS have compared his style and plan for building up the grassroots organization to that of Bill Powers, the state party chairman from 1991 to 2001. In his first years, Powers was able to create momentum by helping county chairs win local and countywide elections, naturally building up enthusiasm and participation along the way, the basic blueprint that Langworthy is looking to replicate. Just a few years after he took over the party, Powers helped George Pataki – then a little-known state senator – defeat then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, who was seeking a fourth term. That same year, 1994, Re-