ALBANY – Governor Pataki is seriously considering a run for re-election next year following the end of a legislative session last week that he regards as a powerful potential platform for winning a fourth term, Republican Party sources said.

While remaining silent on his plans, the governor, who is regarded by insiders as a ferocious political competitor, has trailed the presumptive Democratic nominee, Eliot Spitzer, the state attorney general, by more than 20 points in a number of polls this year.

Mr. Spitzer’s lead narrowed slightly in recent weeks, however, as his candidacy faced increased public scrutiny and Mr. Pataki helped negotiate the first on-time New York State budget in 21 years and pressed for other reforms that have long eluded him and other leaders in Albany.

A decision by Mr. Pataki to run for re-election would also narrow the options for the district attorney of Westchester County, Jeanine Pirro, a Republican who has said she would like to run for a statewide office next year but has not decided among governor, attorney general, and U.S. Senate. Republican officials who have spoken with Mrs. Pirro said they believe she is nearing a decision to enter the 2006 Senate race against Senator Clinton.

Political observers have said for months that Mr. Pataki is not likely to seek another four-year term, citing his prodigious fund-raising on behalf of President Bush two years ago, his stubbornly weak popularity numbers, and the growing balance in his national political action committee.

The governor himself appeared to fan speculation about his national ambitions by sending aides to Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, in April. Later that month, at a rare lunch with Capitol reporters, when he was asked about a 2008 run, he said: “I’m not ruling it out. That’s correct. I’m not ruling it out at all.”

Yet in the past week, Mr. Pataki – and the state Republican Party chairman, Stephen Minarik – have sent fresh signals that the governor is thinking seriously about seeking to become the only New York governor besides Nelson Rockefeller to win four consecutive elections and the only one to serve four full terms. Rockefeller left in the middle of his final term to serve as vice president for President Ford.

The first sign of a drift in Mr. Pataki’s thinking came at a press conference last week in which the governor responded to charges that he was hurting the Republican Party by waiting to make a decision on his plans. A Republican congressman from upstate, John Sweeney, had made the charge in the New York Post two days before.

“I think I’m helping the Republican Party by governing successfully and leading this state,” a vehement Mr. Pataki said in reply. “And I think that’s what the people want.”

Asked at the same press conference when he will make a decision on next year’s race, Mr. Pataki was less precise than in previous months. “I’m not going to put a date or a time frame on it,” he said. “I’ll make it when I’m ready.”

A second sign of a shift came at a Republican Party fund-raising event in Albany this week at which Mr. Pataki delivered a speech that many who were present at the event interpreted as a campaign kickoff. The event, which took place on a boat docked on the Hudson River, was attended by roughly 300 guess and doubled as a birthday party for the governor, who turned 60 last Friday.

“He talked about what he had accomplished over 10 years and how he felt good about this session and where we were going as a state, and that there was a lot more he wanted to do,” one participant, who asked not to be identified, said. “It felt to me like a re-election speech.” A third, perhaps more significant, sign of Mr. Pataki’s renewed interest came yesterday when the chairman of the state Republican committee, Mr. Minarik, strongly distanced himself from a three time Independence Party candidate for governor, Thomas Golisano.

Mr. Minarik, who was quoted in a New York Times article in December as saying he would be open to talking with Mr. Golisano, a Rochester billionaire, about a run for governor if Mr. Pataki decided against it, told The New York Sun yesterday his comments were taken out of context.

“I have never even had a social conversation with Tom Golisano in my life,” Mr. Minarik, who lives in Rochester, said. “And I can’t envision a scenario, frankly, in which we would have such a conversation. Tom has never been a supporter of the Republican Party here or statewide. I think what I said many, many months ago is I would reach out to him as a business leader in western New York, but not to run for governor. The only guy I’m interested in drafting is my guy, and that’s George Pataki.”

Amassing a campaign war chest for the governor’s race would be made easier if Mr. Pataki ran, not only because of his fund-raising abilities and his position as an incumbent, but also because the money he has raised through his Virginia-based 21st Century Freedom PAC is transferable to a statewide race, while funds from his statewide committee are not transferable to a national race.

Mr. Minarik, fearing a money-draining primary, has openly said he hopes Mrs. Pirro decides to run against Mrs. Clinton. That angered a Manhattan lawyer, Edward Cox, President Nixon’s son-in-law, who has established an exploratory committee for a possible run against Mrs. Clinton; and a former Yonkers mayor, John Spencer, who is mulling a run against the state’s junior senator as well.

A spokesman for Mrs. Pirro did not return calls yesterday seeking comment on the veteran prosecutor’s plans.

“I expect a decision from her in the next few weeks,” a state party vice chairman who is chairman of the Onondaga County Republican Committee, Bob Smith, said.

With most political observers confident Mr. Pataki would seek a federal post or a private job, a potential race between Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Pirro was the most promising political theater of next year’s three major races. Yet Mr. Pataki’s apparent growing interest now has some speculating about another potential political battle for the history books.

“One of the reasons he hasn’t made a decision yet is because he’s considering running again,” one state party official, who asked not to be identified, said of Mr. Pataki yesterday. “I’m still leaning toward he’s not, but I would not be shocked now if he did. He’s a helluva campaigner, he’s got plenty of time, and he can raise money hand over fist. He’s going to come out swinging. You know what they tell politicians: ‘If you’re within 20 points, run.'”