Political News Update--January 31

B. Thomas Golisano decided on Tuesday to withdraw his name from the New York Governor's Race. The thrice-defeated Gubernatorial nominee of the state's Independence Party switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party in late 2005. Poll numbers showed that Golisano would have had a difficult time against presumptive Democratic nominee, Eliot Spitzer.

The front runners for the Republican nomination are former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, former State Assembly Minority Leader John Faso, and New York Secretary of State Randy Daniels. According to poll numbers, all three candidates are trailing in head-to-head contests with Spitzer.