NEW YORK (AP) – Jeanine Pirro emerged from a two-hour meeting with Gov. George Pataki on Friday and said that “right now” she remains a candidate for the Senate seat held by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But Pirro’s announcement did nothing to quell speculation that it’s only a matter of time before she pulls the plug on her struggling campaign.

“Clearly the only person who doesn’t know that the Pirro for Senate race is over is Jeanine Pirro,” said Michael Long, state Conservative Party chairman. “There’s a meltdown taking place here and she’s not aware of it.”

Pirro said her meeting with the governor at his Manhattan office went well, but she did not detail the discussion; Pataki did not join her at the press conference held on the sidewalk outside the office.

“There are people who are complimenting my abilities to run for other offices as well,” the Westchester County district attorney said. “I am very grateful for their belief that I can run for any office in this state. Right now, I am a candidate for the United States Senate.”

Speculation that Pirro might quit has been running through New York political circles since state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, the Legislature’s top Republican, said Tuesday that she should give up her Senate bid and run instead for state attorney general.

“I respect her decision and her commitment to run and I wish her the best of luck,” Bruno said in a statement following Pirro’s announcement.

The Pirro campaign has struggled since it began on Aug. 8 and has had trouble raising money. The state Conservative Party has balked at backing her because she supports abortion and gay rights. No Republican running statewide in New York has won without Conservative Party backing since 1974.

Clinton already had almost $14 million in her campaign account by the end of September and polls have shown her far ahead of Pirro. Pirro had raised less than $440,000 by the end of September, according to campaign filings.

Pirro insisted her campaign was going well, despite the recent doubts raised by prominent members of her own party.

“We’ve got tremendous support. There’s a lot of enthusiasm,” she said, adding that she did not take as a slight the suggestions from Bruno and others that she run for attorney general.

The attorney general’s office will open up after next year because Democratic incumbent Eliot Spitzer is running for governor.

In addition to Pirro, the GOP Senate nomination is being sought by former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer and a little-known tax attorney, William Brenner.

Manhattan lawyer Edward Cox, a son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon, halted his campaign for the GOP Senate nomination after Pataki endorsed Pirro in October.

Spencer said he believed it was just a matter of time until she dropped out.

“I don’t see how she stays in,” Spencer said, adding that “her campaign is in chaos.”

Pataki spokesman David Catalfamo said the governor and Pirro had discussed “a wide range of topics” during the meeting, including the future of Pirro’s campaign.

“Jeanine Pirro is a candidate for the U.S. Senate and the governor enthusiastically supports her candidacy,” Catalfamo said, adding that the governor “feels she’d be a great candidate for any office she decided to run for.”

Democrats chose to focus on Pataki’s absence at the press conference.

“It’s no wonder the governor refused to stand with his hand-picked candidate today,” state Democratic Chairman Herman “Denny” Farrell said in a statement. “While Ms. Pirro spends her time deciding whether to run for Senate, Hillary Clinton is already working hard in the Senate every day on behalf of all New Yorkers.”

Pirro’s early campaign has been noticeable for its slow start in fund-raising and some awkward gaffes.

At her kickoff announcement, she lost a page of her speech and endured an embarrassing 30-second gap as aides scrambled to find it. Democrats immediately pounced on the gaffe, sending a video of the speech to reporters within hours.

She tried to joke about it later, but even that came out wrong.

“Was it my best day? Absolutely not,” she said. “Am I better than that? Absolutely not.”