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Donald Trump was the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the Erie County Republican Committee Lincoln Leadership Reception at Salvatore's Italian Gardens in Cheektowaga, N.Y. last month. Today, Trump met with 26 of the state's GOP county chairs who control the majority votes to nominate a candidate for governor. If Trump chooses to run, Onondaga County's chair says, "he would be our nominee."

(AP Photo/The Buffalo News, Sharon Cantillon)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Donald Trump met today with half the state's Republican county chairs who all but told the business mogul he is their preferred candidate to take on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the Onondaga County chairman.

The hour-long meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan included 26 county chairs who hold 60 percent of the votes needed to nominate a gubernatorial candidate at the state GOP convention in May, said Tom Dadey, the Onondaga County Republican Party chairman who is also the state party's No. 2 officer.

"I believe that the consensus in that room would be that if Donald Trump chose to run for governor, not only would it be a game-changer for the Republican Party, but he would be our nominee," Dadey said after the meeting.

Dadey said the party chairs did not take a straw poll to gauge support, nor did Trump ask for their endorsements.

"I could see the Republican Party getting behind him," Dadey said of Trump. When asked if he would endorse Trump as a candidate, Dadey said: "It's fair to say that I want the strongest candidate to run against Andrew Cuomo, the strongest candidate that the Republican Party can put forward."

During the meeting, Trump did not declare his candidacy, Dadey said.

The only thing Trump asked for, Dadey said, is party unity to defeat Cuomo, a Democrat in his first term.

"Because the focus needs to be on beating Andrew Cuomo," Dadey said. "We don't need a primary. We haven't won a (statewide) race since 2002."

But the state Republicans are far from unified.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino also is seriously considering a run, and he's backed by the No. 1 GOP state party official, Ed Cox.

In recent days, Astorino picked up support from Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long and from Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos. Astorino sent out his first fundraising solicitation today, The Buffalo News reported.

Cox was not at today's meeting at Trump Tower, Dadey said. The meeting included Republican chairs from Western, Central and Northern New York, including Erie, Oswego and Oneida counties. Monroe County's chairman Bill Reilich said last week he would endorse Trump if he decided to run.

When asked if the nomination for Trump was a foregone conclusion, Dadey said: "There was lot of support for Donald Trump's candidacy today."

Trump said he's willing to put $50 million of his own money into the race. Cuomo has $33 million in his campaign account. Astorino has about $1 million.

The meeting was in a board room on the 25th floor on 5th Avenue overlooking Central Park. The buffet included cheese and crackers, cookies, juice and soda.

The political talk included tax cuts, deregulation and shrinking the size of New York government.

Those goals mirror the campaign and governing agenda from Cuomo, who has tamped down state spending, offered income, property and manufacturing tax breaks, and created tax-free zones for qualified businesses.

Dadey said Cuomo has talked about changes but failed to change New York's high-tax reputation or reality.

Trump, Dadey said, "knows how to create jobs."

The state Republican convention is May 14 and 15. The delegates will designate a candidate. After that, any other Republican may challenge the designated candidate to a primary.

Contact Teri Weaver at tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.