Jacob Rieper of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association:

Liberal Democrats are worried about Tom Suozzi. They just won't come out and say it in public...

For those with shorter memories, the only reason Spitzer rose to the top of the Democrat heap is that Chuck Schumer declined to run for Governor. Before Schumer annouced his decision, Spitzer was a distant 2nd choice.

The further point: Advocates for gun owners' rights - long among the best-informed, most organized voters in the state - could negate and even out-do Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's support among liberal special interest groups in this year's Democratic gubernatorial primary. Rieper writes that if they vote in strong numbers for Spitzer's rival, Tom Suozzi, "we can take Spitzer out. Even if he wins the primary, Spitzer is going to have to burn up a huge pile of cash before the general election."

This could have more of an impact north of the Bronx-Westchester line, where advocates for gun owners have traditionally had much more political clout than in the five boroughs. But, then again, in 1982 an important part of Mario Cuomo's upset over Ed Koch in the Democratic primary was an incredibly strong showing in the upstate vote...