Correction, the party chair at the time and big Weld booster was the late Stephen Minarik (not Cox). He ultimately got Weld to see the writing on the wall and drop out.
Cox himself wanted to run for Governor in 2006 but shifted to running for Senator against Hillary, though dropped out in favor of Jeanine Pirro (who in turn also dropped out and ran for AG instead).
I’ve never been a fan of Cox. What a bore! But thanks for the info. I vote now in NJ although maintain an apt. in NYC. So sometimes I don’t keep up or forget the past. I never really got over Clinton becoming a senator. Never got over that betrayal.