As reported by The Post-Star today, the campaign of Sen. Roy McDonald plans to stay in the race through the general election, presumably as an Independence Party candidate.

Senate Republican spokesman Scott Reif said this morning that, “At this time, the only thing we’re focused on is completing the absentee ballot count.”

Calls and emails to McDonald’s campaign staff were not immediately returned today.

McDonald, one of the four GOP state senators to back the same-sex marriage law last year, is in danger of losing the Republican line this November to Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione as the razor-thin results from last week come down to paper absentee ballots.

The last count put McDonald down by more than 100 votes.

The news that McDonald will stay in the race — which so far hasn’t been confirmed outside of The Post-Star story — is significant. It’s highly improbable that the Senate Republican conference would back him going forward on a third-party ballot line.

Though Marchione was clearly not supported by the Republican establishment, she did herself a favor by not accepting the help of Carl Paladino, who wants to torpedo the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

But with McDonald in the race through November, Democrats may see an opportunity with Robin Andrews, a hereto little-known candidate running in the district (Marchione has the Conservative Party nomination as well, which would give her a leg up).

And McDonald’s presence through the fall would also put pressure on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to possibly endorse the incumbent, who would keep his GOP enrollment even if he is running on a different line.

Cuomo told reporters this week he was disappointed that McDonald, along with another pro-gay marriage Republican, Sen. Stephen Saland, fared poorly in their primaries. Saland is currently leading his absentee ballot count and Republicans are confident he will be able to secure a victory against Neil Di Carlo.

Cuomo said he hopes both men are re-elected, but stopped short of a full endorsement. The Democratic governor did say he was considering endorsing candidates on “both sides of the aisle.”

Either way, the pressure for McDonald to be bounced from the race will be intense.

And then there’s this post-script that is worth noting: The Senate Republican Campaign Committee contributed $50,000 to the Independence Party earlier this month before the September primary, according to the Board of Elections.

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