Republican advisers say Giuliani leaning toward Senate bid instead of governor’s race

GOP advisers: Giuliani leans toward a Senate race

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is leaning toward running for the U.S. Senate rather than making a bid for governor, two Republican advisers said Thursday.

“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 adviser said, “but the U.S. Senate could be a perfect fit for him.”

The adviser noted that no one is saying Giuliani has made a decision, but that it “certainly sounds” like he is less interested in running for governor. Another adviser echoed that.

The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak for the state Republican Party or Giuliani.

Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella disputed a New York Times report Thursday that Giuliani wouldn’t run for governor after months of considering it. The Times cited unidentified people told of the decision.

Comella said that Giuliani, who came to be known as “America’s mayor” when he saw grieving New Yorkers through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, told her Thursday that he hadn’t made a decision.

“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.”

Republicans have been watching polls showing that Giuliani would beat Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a hypothetical matchup in the Senate race next year. She was appointed this year to fill the unexpired term of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who became secretary of state.

Polls also show Giuliani, 65, trailing in a possible matchup with Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the popular attorney general amassing a large campaign fund.

Cuomo hasn’t announced a run for the office, once held by his father, Mario, but he is widely expected to. He dropped out before a primary in the 2002 governor’s race because he lacked support.

A Marist College poll this month found that Cuomo would beat Giuliani for governor, 53 percent to 43 percent. But Giuliani leads Gillibrand 54 percent to 40 percent in a possible Senate run.

“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. “Winning a U.S. Senate seat in heavily Democratic New York would be a huge national story and rekindle any hopes he may have.”

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

Giuliani “is a leader of the party nationally, not just in New York, and I would think that he would have an impact” in Washington, said former Rep. Sherwood Bohlert, a moderate Republican from New York who served 24 years in Congress. “Maybe another moderate in the Senate in Republican ranks would help bring the majority to their senses.”

In Albany, Republicans were energized.

“I think, certainly, Rudy Giuliani would be a great U.S. senator and bring a unique perspective,” said New York Assembly Republican leader Brian Kolb. He hasn’t heard confirmation of the mayor’s decision, but thinks Giuliani is leaning toward a Senate run.

“We should look at who is the best person for the job, first and foremost, and I think Rudy Giuliani is that guy,” Kolb said.

Gov. David Paterson was skeptical of the reports Thursday when asked for comment: “If you don’t mind I’d just rather wait for the mayor.”

Giuliani ran for Senate in 2000, taking on what was to be a titanic clash with Clinton. He withdrew when he found out he had cancer, which he has since beaten. He also withdrew from the presidential race a year ago, lacking support for the GOP nomination.

A third Republican adviser said Giuliani is expected to give Rick Lazio, the only announced Republican in the race, early notice of his decision. The adviser wasn’t authorized to speak for the party and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“We don’t know what Rudy Giuliani is going to do,” Lazio spokesman Barney Keller said. “We just know that Rick Lazio is running.”

Earlier this year, some Republicans talked about Giuliani as “Rudy the Savior.”

After losing the state Senate majority last fall after a half-century of rule, Republicans are shut out of every statewide office and the majorities of both houses of the Legislature for the first time in decades.

That locks the GOP out of critical control of patronage jobs and the power of incumbency to build electoral wins. Voter enrollment is also giving Democrats a nearly 2 to 1 advantage statewide, and growing.

Giuliani on Thursday said that trying self-professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a federal civilian court in New York is unwise and unnecessary.

“There’s no reason to put New York through this,” said Giuliani, who was mayor when terrorists flew two hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and one struck the Pentagon. A fourth jet crashed in western Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee on Thursday announced a new web video that it says highlights Giuliani’s “politically-motivated flip flop on whether suspected terrorists should stand trial in U.S. courts.”

The DNC video shows Giuliani supposedly praising the New York City trial of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” in 2006.

An e-mail requesting comment from Giuliani on the DNC video was not immediately answered.