I'm not a NYer but from what I hear, there is a lot of discontent among many county chairman with Pataki and his handpicked state chairman...there is concern that the Republicans don't have enough good candidates for the Senate, governor's race (if Pataki doesn't run) and the attorney general's race (where Eliot Spitzer is the heavy favorite)...that Pataki is running the party from the top
and ignoring the grass roots
Of course, a good race against Hillary and Republicans' outlook could quickly change
My own sneaking suspicion is that the Republicans don't want her to lose in '06. They want her to be the Democrats' nominee in '08, because, in their view, only she can keep conservatives on the GOP plantation.