NEW YORK, NY April 16, 2009 —Republicans had their annual fundraising dinner last night and they say they're going to do everything they can to resurrect the state party. WNYC's Elaine Rivera reports:

REPORTER: It was a packed house at the Sheraton Towers banquet, as Republicans from around the state came to hear keynote speaker Newt Gingrich and top political state veterans such as former mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Governor George Pataki. All talked about returning to traditional conservative fiscal values: lower taxes, less government, stronger defense. Gingrich layed out his vision for how the GOP could regain power in New York.

GINGRICH: If we had Mayor Giuliani for governor and we had Governor Pataki for senator we would be a large step toward the title wave which would make 2010 comparable to 1994.

REPORTER: Gingrich was referring to when Republicans took over Congress during the Clinton presidency. Giuliani has not ruled out running for governor although he told reporters it's too early for him to commit. For WNYC, I'm Elaine Rivera.