He has served in Onondaga County government for the past two and a half years. Now, the county's Comptroller is eyeing a possible move to Albany. YNN's Bill Carey says it will not be an easy thing to make it to the state ticket.

ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. -- It took Bob Antonacci two tries to become Onondaga County's Comptroller and a change in ballot line. A registered Independence Party member back in 2003, Antonacci first ran as a democrat and lost. Four years later, he was successful. But this time as a registered republican, running on the republican line, a change that dates back to that first attempt at the job.

"After the election, I was contacted by the republican chairman, who, literally, the day after the election, said, 'Mr. Antonacci, we were impressed with the way you ran. The way you conducted yourself. Before you do anything, we'd like to talk to you about switching to the Republican Party,'" Antonacci said.

In recent weeks, Antonacci has let it be known that he might be interested in running for State Comptroller, but urged on by some Upstate GOP chairman, he has decided now on a race for Attorney General. As both a CPA and a lawyer, he says he is qualified.

"Fair enough, I'm not a prosecutor. Don't pretend to be one. But I think what the taxpayers of New York State need right now is a business attorney. They need a tax attorney and they need somebody that can speak the language of economic development," Antonacci said.

Antonacci is not alone in the race. This weekend, Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan may formally announce he's in the running.

Antonacci expects the vote at the republican state convention to be close. But he makes it clear, if he is not successful in that vote, the race comes to an end.

"I've had a fair shake at the process. I've had access to everybody I needed to have access to. I need to convince them that I am the right guy at the right time. If I fail to do that, then I wish Mr. Donovan the best and I'll come back to Syracuse and get back to work," Antonacci said.

Until that vote, though, Antonacci says he's running and running hard.

There has been intense interest in the Attorney General's race since the man holding the job, Andrew Cuomo, is expected to run for Governor. Democrats are facing a potential five-way race for the nomination for their party.