MCCAUGHEY ROSS' FUTURE IN QUESTION.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: TRACEY TULLY Capitol bureau

Ten minutes before polls had even closed Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross was talking like a loser who was happy to accept second prize.

``We have succeeded in setting the agenda,'' McCaughey Ross said, as results were trickling in that hinted of her crushing loss in the Democratic primary for governor. Conceding defeat an hour later, she remained upbeat.

``The entire gubernatorial contest is more relevant than it would have been had we not entered this race,'' she said before ticking off a host of women's issues she says she put on the table.

But even as she was doing her best to appear confident …