ALBANY – A state senator from Long Island, with a political resume similar to the one that Governor Pataki brought to the race against Mario Cuomo in 1994, is the latest person to surface as a potential Republican candidate in next year’s race for governor.

Senator John Flanagan told The New York Sun that Mr. Pataki approached him less than a week before the governor bowed out of the 2006 campaign and encouraged him to run for governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general.

“We were at an event together, and he asked me if we could chat for a few minutes,” Mr. Flanagan said. “We had a very open discussion about his potential plans and what he thought I should be thinking about. We talked about the tracks of our careers, and he thought I should be contemplating looking at statewide office.”

Mr. Flanagan declined to say whether Mr. Pataki recommended any office in particular but said the impression he got was that Mr. Pataki is confident he would be good at any office he chose to pursue. The state senator said he respects the governor’s political instincts and is open to any race that Republican Party leaders think he should run.

“He was very complimentary,” Mr. Flanagan, 44, said of the governor. “I believe it would be fair to say he thinks I have the potential to be one of the leaders in the party, whether it be as governor, lieutenant governor, or attorney general.”

The executive director of the Republican state committee, Ryan Moses, said Mr. Flanagan “will be invited” to a September 8 meeting of the party’s county leaders in Rockland County. The meeting will be the third of several get-togethers for party leaders to vet candidates for three statewide races next year: governor, comptroller, and attorney general.

On the Democratic side, the current attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is the heavy favorite for nomination for governor; the current comptroller, Alan Hevesi, is seeking re-election, and the race to succeed Mr. Spitzer has drawn many aspirants.

Among Republicans, a former minority leader of the Assembly, John Faso, has already expressed an interest in the governor’s race – he lost for comptroller to Mr. Hevesi three years ago – as has New York’s secretary of state, Randy Daniels.

Other potential candidates include a former governor of Massachusetts, William Weld; an assemblyman from Dutchess County, Patrick Manning, and a state senator from Utica, Raymond Meier. Talk of a mystery candidate has circulated in recent days, but the only name mentioned is that of Richard Parsons, chief executive officer of Time Warner, Incorporated. A spokesman for Mr. Parsons denied that report to the Associated Press.

The similarities between a younger Mr. Pataki and Mr. Flanagan suggest Mr. Pataki might see in the Suffolk County lawmaker the same qualities that helped him unseat Mario Cuomo in 1994. Mr. Pataki was a young lawyer who spent 10 years in the Assembly before a short stint in the Senate. Mr. Flanagan is a young lawyer who spent 16 years in the Assembly before his first election to the Senate in 2002.

Mr. Pataki’s endorsement will be coveted by any Republican who goes against Mr. Spitzer next year, and not only as a vote-getting tool. As de facto leader of the Republican Party, the governor can elevate his favorite to the top of the lists of other GOP leaders. A dose of personal encouragement for Mr. Flanagan by Mr. Pataki could be the difference between contemplating and jumping into the race.

“We like to work with the governor,” Mr. Moses said. “And as we go through this process, certainly the governor has a large seat at the table.”

Mr. Pataki has maintained a low-key schedule since announcing this month he will not run for another term. But potential candidates for statewide office, particularly those interested in the governor’s office, have been burning the phone lines at the executive chamber, aides to Mr. Pataki said. Though a lame duck legislatively, the governor still is viewed as someone whose political blessing has value.

“Everybody wants to talk to him,” Mr. Pataki’s communications director, David Catalfamo, said. “Bill Weld wants to talk to him. Randy Daniels wants to talk to him. Ed Cox wants to talk with him. People clearly want the governor’s endorsement to advance their candidacies. Weld has called a few times over the past several months. I don’t know that they’ve spoken, but I know that they will.” Mr. Cox, a New York lawyer, is interested in the GOP nomination to oppose Senator Clinton.

John Flanagan is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and of Touro Law School, at Huntington. He lives at Northport with his wife and three children. Mr. Flanagan’s district is thought to be a safe seat for the dwindling Republican majority in the Senate: He won his second term last fall by a landslide.

Like Mr. Pataki, Mr. Flanagan has distinguished himself as a lawmaker by advancing environmental issues. He is one of only seven state lawmakers to earn a perfect score on a legislative scorecard issued by EPL/Environmental Advocates, an organization that tracks voting records on environmental issues. He has also been an outspoken proponent of budget reform. His father, also named John Flanagan, was a member of the state Assembly from 1972 to 1986.

The state senator indicated his decision on a race could be strongly influenced by Mr. Pataki.

“I have always had great respect for the governor on a lot of different levels,” Mr. Flanagan said. “I look at some tremendous things he’s done and take what he says seriously. There are plenty of people who continue to underestimate Governor Pataki, so whether it’s me or any one of my colleagues, when the governor of the state of New York talks to you about something like this, not only do common decency and good manner dictate that you be a good listener, but I trust his instincts.”