A faction of Republican leaders who back John Faso for governor have asked a Manhattan lawyer who is a son-in-law of President Nixon, Edward Cox, to lead the state Republican Party, sources told The New York Sun.

While Mr. Cox has officially said he’s not interested in becoming GOP chairman, the sources said Mr. Cox has indicated he is open to the idea. Mr. Cox had planned to run against Senator Clinton this year, but dropped out of the race when Governor Pataki refused to support him.

“If there was a vacancy, would he consider it? I think the answer is yes,” a political strategist who has worked closely with Mr. Cox, Lynn Mueller, said.

The current party chairman, Stephen Minarik, has said he plans to remain until his term ends in September 2007. Mr. Minarik has angered Mr. Faso’s supporters by endorsing William Weld for governor. His leadership will be tested next week at the Republican Convention on Long Island, when party delegates cast their votes for either Mr. Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts, or Mr. Faso, a former assemblyman and lobbyist.

If Mr. Faso comes away from the Republican Convention with a victory, Mr. Minarik could face increasing pressure to step down. The county chairmen that have privately floated the idea of a Mr. Cox chairmanship strongly support Mr. Faso’s candidacy and had encouraged Mr. Cox last year to take on Mrs. Clinton.

“If the position became open, I would certainly be glad to have him as the chairman,” the chairman of the Livingston County Republican Committee and a supporter of Mr. Faso, Lowell Conrad, said.

Other names that Republicans have discussed as possible successors include Robert Smith, the Republican chairman of Onondaga County and Edward Lurie, a close aide to the Republican Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno.

The executive director of the Republican state party, Ryan Moses, said Mr. Minarik’s standing was firm. “In a year and a half from now, if the state chairman Stephen Minarik decides not to run again, it’s up to the state committee members and county members to decide who the chairman will be,” he said. “We’re focused on the convention next week and the elections in 2006, not state party business in 2007.”

Mr. Minarik is a deeply committed conservative Republican from Monroe County who has struggled to hold together a splintering party that is in danger of losing the governorship in an increasingly Democratic state. The past year has been trying for Mr. Minarik, whose plans for challenging both the Democratic frontrunner for governor, Eliot Spitzer, and Senator Clinton have gone awry.

Mr. Minarik has tried to get the party behind Mr. Weld but has faced resistance from a growing number of party county leaders favoring Mr. Faso, who has promised to return the party to its ideological moorings. And last year, Mr. Minarik endorsed the Westchester district attorney, Jeanine Pirro, for U.S. Senate, passing over Mr. Cox – only to see her campaign grounded by gaffes, strategic mistakes, and a shortage of money. Ms. Pirro is now seeking the Republican nomination for state attorney general.

Mr. Cox, a partner in the Manhattan law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and a SUNY trustee, aborted his Senate bid in October after Mr. Pataki endorsed Mrs. Pirro. After she switched races, Mr. Cox declined to re-enter the race, saying he feared it was too late to mount a credible challenge. Since Mr. Minarik endorsed Mrs. Pirro, Mr. Cox and the party chairmen have talked infrequently. On Tuesday, Mr. Cox attended the convention of the Conservative Party, which nominated Mr. Faso.

“When Ed left the Senate race, he basically said to people, ‘I’m not going away,” a Republican insider said. Supporters of Mr. Cox said he would be able to appeal to the party’s base as well as to prominent New York City Republican donors.