Spitzer's positive poll numbers, and the advantage Democrats have in New York State had fueled discussion of the Republican leadership's active pursuit of candidates to run against Spitzer. By June 2006, two people announced their intention to run for the nomination: former New York Assemblyman John Faso, who was officially endorsed at the 2006 New York State Republican Party Convention, and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld, who is a native New Yorker. Shortly after the convention, Weld dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. An additional consideration for Spitzer was the status of billionaire businessman Tom Golisano, a three-time candidate on the Independence Party ballot line. It was rumored that Golisano might run again, and that Republican Party insiders would seek to nominate him on their own party's line, thus fusing the Republican and Independence tickets for the first time in a gubernatorial election. Golisano recently switched his party affiliation to the GOP. However, on February 1, 2006, Golisano announced that he would not run for governor. Spitzer selected African-American New York State Senate minority leader David Paterson as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate in January 2006. In New York gubernatorial elections, the most important factor in the gubernatorial candidate's choice of a lieutenant governor is the need to "balance the ticket"—that is, to widen the candidate's appeal, whether by reaching out to someone from a different geographic area, ethnic background, or has a different political base. Paterson's father Basil Paterson was also a candidate for Lt. Governor in 1970. After announcing his candidacy, Spitzer was endorsed by numerous New Yorkers including state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and former New York City Mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch (who endorsed President Bush in 2004). In February 2006, Spitzer received the endorsement of then-Democrat businessman Donald Trump, who had been courted by the Republicans to run against him. In the Democratic primary, held on September 12, 2006, Spitzer handily defeated Suozzi, securing his party's nomination with 82% of the vote. Republican Primary John Faso – former state Assembly minority leader (1998–2002), the Republican nominee for state comptroller in 2002. On February 14, Faso launched a statewide campaign ad announcing his candidacy for governor. Later that month, he was endorsed by Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long and by Congressman John Sweeney. Faso won the nomination at the Republican convention, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, 61%-39%. Following the