Mayor Bloomberg said today he would “generally” not get involved in the state races this fall, unless, of course, he feels compelled – either out a sense of loyalty (“worth an awful lot in my book”) or ideology – to do so.

For example, the mayor said today that he will support Sen. Craig Johnson, a Nassau County Democrat, simply because he decided to buck his fellow downstate Dems and vote “yes” on the charter school bill – a move Bloomberg deemed “courageous.”

“He was the only one that stood up about a month and a half ago,” the mayor said today during his Q&A with reporters, including NY1′s Josh Robin.

“And let me tell you. I care about our kids. And I think that’s exactly the kind of guy we should have here. I don’t necessarily agree with him on everything. But that’s a seminal issue. … I will support him because of that one vote.”

The mayor’s words of support come as Johnson is being targeted, along with Deputy Senate Majority Leader Jeff Klein, by the AFL-CIO for his “yes” vote on charter schools, as well as a host of other issues with which the union is displeased.

Bloomberg also said he has spoken with Republican Staten Island DA Dan Donovan and will endorse him if he enters the AG race, as is widely expected.

That, as the WSJ’s Michael Howard Saul and Jacob Gershman pointed out Friday, sets the mayor up for a surrogate battle with AG Andrew Cuomo, who is sending signals that he supports Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice as his successor.

Another of Bloomberg’s preferred candidates is Rep. Mike McMahon, for whom the mayor is hosting a fundraiser on June 3 at his Upper East Side townhouse.

This comes as McMahon has lost the support of key labor unions, including SEIU 1199, CWA and others, along with the labor-backed Working Families Party, as retaliation for his “no” vote on health care reform.

As Azi Paybarah points out, Bloomberg is also expected to support his 2009 campaign consultant and charter school supporter, Basil Smikle, who is mounting a primary challenge against an anti-charter Democrat, Sen. Bill Perkins.

Bloomberg slammed Perkins recently on his radio show, calling the senator “violently against” charter schools.

The mayor is also helping another pro-charter Democrat, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, raise money at a May 12 fundraiser at the Harvard Club. In the invite to the event, which features a photo of the mayor, Bloomberg lauded Hoyt for his “strong, independent and courageous leadership.”

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