Carl P. Paladino, a wealthy Buffalo businessman and political neophyte, won a stunning victory over his rival, former Representative Rick A. Lazio, in New York’s Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night.
The victory for Mr. Paladino, whose agitating campaign strategy and attacks against Albany earned him a late surge in the polls, marked the second major triumph on Tuesday night for the Tea Party movement, which backed the businessman against Mr. Lazio, a dyed-in-the-wool Republican mainstay. And it underscored the deep divisions among the conservative electorate as the G.O.P. hopes to make inroads nationwide this fall.
In another sign of anti-establishment fervor, the state Senate majority leader, Pedro Espada Jr., who is facing civil corruption charges, conceded his race in the Bronx to a Democratic rival, Gustavo Rivera, who had been backed by unions, donors, and elected officials across the state.
Just months ago, Mr. Paladino appeared to be out of the race, banished from the Republican ballot by party leaders at their convention. But he began a grass-roots petition drive and started holding whipped-up rallies around the state, where his mixture of white-hot anger and blunt attacks on Albany gained traction. Far-right conservatives, deficit hawks, and New Yorkers who identified with the Tea Party rallied behind him, even as the state’s Republican leadership continued to dismiss his chances.
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Another ignorant Republican bigot wins a Republican primary!
John H. Armwood
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