Giuliani Eyeing New York Senate Run

Rudy Giuliani

Earlier this week rumors were circling that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was considering running for governor of the state.  It seems a run for governor is not likely, but new reports from within the Giuliani camp suggest he is starting to lean towards running for the U.S. Senate.

“From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit for him now,” one GOP advisor said Thursday anonymously. “But the U.S. Senate could be a perfect fit for him.”

The adviser noted that nobody is saying Giuliani has decided, but it “certainly sounds” like he is less interested in running for governor. A second adviser echoed that.

The New York Times reported Thursday that moderate Republican Giuliani wouldn’t run for governor, after months of considering it, but Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella disputed the report.   Ms. Comella said Giuliani had told her Thursday that he had not made a final decision regarding the 2010 governor race.

“When he comes to that decision he’ll let everyone know,” Comella said. Asked whether that meant Giuliani was still considering a run for governor, she said: “Correct.”

Rudy Giuliani became known as “America’s mayor” after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.  While New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin (D) was sharply criticized for his response and leadership after Hurricane Katrina, Giuliani received high marks and became one the leading Republicans on the national political stage.

He entered the race for the Republican presidential nominee this past election, but could not gain enough support from the GOP base.  Some of Giuliani’s political strengths in the GOP are his positions on national defense, homeland security, and terrorism.   His left-leaning positions on social issues, especially abortion, conflicted too much with the conservative base of the Republican party, causing him to drop out of the race.

He says his position on abortion is based on two pillars:

“One, is I believe abortion is wrong. I think it is morally wrong. And if I were asked my advice by someone who was considering an abortion, I would tell them not to have the abortion, to have the child, and if nothing else, the adoption option exists,” Giuliani said.

The second pillar, he said, is “that in a country like ours, where people of good faith, people who are equally decent, equally moral, and equally religious, where they come to different conclusions about this, … I believe you have to respect their viewpoint. … I would grant women the right to make that choice” to have an abortion.

When Attorney General Eric Holder announced that 5 terrorist suspects from Guantanamo, including the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would be flown back to New York City to stand trial, Giuliani was front-and-center on nearly all the networks, again proving his prominence as a leader of the Republican party.

“What the Obama administration is telling us loud and clear is that both in substance and reality, the war on terror, from their point of view, is over. We’re no longer going to treat these people as if this was an act of war,” Giuliani stated on Fox News Sunday.

New York Republicans have been gauging the potential for success if Giuliani were to run.  According to a Marist College poll conducted this month, Giuliani leads Gillibrand 54% to 40% in a possible Senate run.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) was appointed this year to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unexpired term when she became secretary of state.

The same poll also found that Andrew Cuomo (D), the state attorney general who is expected to run for governor, would beat Giuliani 53% to 43%.

“Clearly, running for the U.S. Senate is a far smarter move for him, particularly if has any national aspirations,” Marist pollster Lee Miringoff said.

The poll surveyed 805 registered voters on Nov. 12, Monday and Tuesday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Representative Sherwood Bohlert, a moderate New York Republican who served 24 years in Congress, called Giuliani “a leader of the party nationally, not just in New York,” and said he thinks the former mayor would have an impact in Washington.

“Maybe another moderate in the Senate in Republican ranks would help bring the majority to their senses,” Bohlert said.

TheAmericano/Agencies

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