Former Gov. George Pataki, who held the position from 1995 to 2006, predicted that an independent run from Cuomo would “be the best thing that ever happened to the state, because he’d get crushed and, in the process, almost guarantee a Republican victory.”

“I just pray that Andrew Cuomo decides to jump in the race,” he said on WABC 770 AM Sunday morning.

But Pataki predicted Cuomo, who is “the most unpopular political figure in New York state,” would decide against entering a race where he would be “embarrassed horribly” by attracting only the support of “hardcore partisan Democrats.”

Even without Cuomo entering the fray and siphoning off support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the institutional backing of the state’s Democratic Party, Republicans have a rare opportunity for victory in a deep blue state.