ELECTION/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “For months, President Trump’s political advisers have been working to remake state Republican parties to cement their control ahead of the 2020 election. But Mr. Trump had a vested interest in helping dictate the leadership and direction of one state party in particular. In New York, where Mr. Trump was born, raised and ruminated for years about a political campaign of his own, the State Republican Party had a leadership change on Monday, moving from the genteel leadership of Edward F. Cox, the son-in-law of President Richard M. Nixon, to the grass-roots style of Nick Langworthy, of Erie County. The president and his campaign aides never spoke publicly about Mr. Langworthy’s bid to unseat Mr. Cox. But for months, top aides to Mr. Trump were discussing the race with Mr. Langworthy. The former White House political director, Bill Stepien, was in contact with Mr. Langworthy, the chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, since December, as Mr. Langworthy worked to amass enough support to overtake Mr. Cox, according to New York officials briefed on the discussions. Inside the West Wing, Mr. Trump was apprised of what was happening in his home state.”
–Maggie Haberman and Jesse McKinley, “Trump Supported Changing New York G.O.P. Leader,” The New York Times online, May 21, 2019