Former gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio joined me on CapTon last night and insisted he has “no regrets” about dropping out of the race to cede the Conservative line to Carl Paladino, although he refused to say whether he will be voting today for the Buffalo businessman who trounced him in the GOP primary on Sept. 14.

In his first extended TV appearance since he quit the race in September, Lazio said his judicial candidacy (for state Supreme Court in the Bronx), which he used to get off Row D, prevents him from making any endorsements or overt political statements. He did, however, lament the tone of the governor’s race and its lack of focus on issues.

“It would have been a different race for sure,” Lazio said when I asked him if he wished he had stuck it out in the gubernatorial contest.

“I don’t think it would have been likely that it would have effected the ultimate outcome in terms of who the victor might be, and my thinking of it at the time was I did not want to create unintended consequences where people were voting for me and one candidate or the other was a net beneficiary.”

“…I thought the right and honorable thing for me to do honestly was to step aside even though I had won that Conservative Party line, so I have no regrets at all about that.”

Lazio did take a swipe at state GOP Chairman Ed Cox for candidate shopping and failing to unite early behind contenders who had no significant primary opposition (actually, only comptroller hopeful Harry Wilson falls into that category).

The former congressman said he thinks criticism of Cox is “fair,” although I’ve heard some say he’ll be vindicated in backing Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy if Paladino loses big today. (Heck, even Eliot Spitzer thinks Levy would have beat Andrew Cuomo).

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