State GOP Chairman Ed Cox is a veteran of presidential politics, having worked for three administrations. Ronald Reagan was the last Republican to carry the state, but Cox believes Trump "has the big 'mo,' big momentum," behind him and Hillary Clinton is "fading."
"Having spent really no money on paid media, he is now certainly neck and neck, and pulling ahead in many jurisdictions," Cox claimed during a Wednesday appearance in Buffalo.
"Donald Trump has already campaigned extensively here. He has always told me, 'Ed, we're going to win New York State.' That could very happen this year."
Cox, son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon, understands how controversy can overwhelm a public official. While calling Trump's building support in the state a "wildfire," Cox believes Clinton's recent comments in which she called Trump supporters "deplorable" will prove to be her undoing.
"Let me tell you, she threw kerosene on that wildfire," Cox said.
"It feels very much like 1980 to me when...nationally, a lot of people didn't think Ronald Reagan was going to win the Presidency. Not only did he win the Presidency, but he won New York State. And this feels like very much the same, but even more so."