ALBANY — State Senate Republicans have secretly voted to put party Chairman Ed Cox on notice that they want former Rep. Rick Lazio — and not a turncoat Democrat — as their candidate for governor.

The informal vote was taken behind closed doors late last week, as 30 lawmakers discussed efforts by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a Democrat, to convince GOP leaders that he should be their candidate.

Lazio, a former Wall Street lobbyist who lost a Senate bid to Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000, has won the backing of most county GOP leaders.

But Cox and others who favor Levy fear that Lazio lacks both the money and the drive to mount a strong run against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the presumed Democratic candidate.