New York, NY —

Members of the Queens County Republican Party say they plan to to endorse former City Councilman Thomas Ognibene for mayor tonight, steering the borough with the largest number of Republicans away from Mayor Bloomberg. WNYC's Collin Campbell has more.

The Queens GOP endorsed Bloomberg for his first term, but now they say they're displeased with his support of gay marriage, his push to impose an 18.5% property tax hike on homeowners and his liberal policies. A source close to Bloomberg told the Associated Press that the county's GOP chairman was also upset because Bloomberg had failed to hire enough Queens Republicans for his administration. Bloomberg's campaign says Queens members are putting patronage over performance.

The mayor's campaign says it is still hopeful that the other four borough Republican committees will support him.