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Giuliani Spokeswoman Denies That He Will Run For Senate

11/19/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Mayor Giuliani has gone into denial mode over a story in the New York Daily News, as reported here on LGR, that he was running for Senate. Whether or not the initial report is true, or the statement from Guiliani’s camp is remains to be seen. The Daily New’s story appeared to jump the gun rather badly given the fact that Rudy Giuliani had not made a formal announcement. In a statement printed in Politico, Maria Comella, Guiliani’s spokeswoman, stated:

Even though a recent poll had Giuliani beating [Gillibrand] by nine points, Giuliani laughs off the idea. “My value is in running things,” he told me. “Commenting is great, but I get to do that anyway on television and radio and [in] op-ed pieces.” “It’s a job that we have discussed in the past, and he just has no desire to do it,” [longtime advisor Anthony] Carbonetti says.

The polls on this issue are all over the place, and there are other issues involved with polling this race. The most notable is that most New Yorkers know who Giuliani is, but lack knowledge about Gillibrand. Polls a year out from an election tend to have more to do with name recognition than they do with the substance of the platform or the campaign itself. Giuliani is more familiar to New Yorkers than Gillibrand, and thus, they are more likely to say they would vote for him rather than her. A campaign changes that.

In many ways, what Guiliani does depends upon Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Should Cuomo challenge Governor David Paterson, the probability is that Cuomo would win hands down. Cuomo would also beat Guiliani for Governor without too much of a fight.

Beyond the statement given by Giuliani’s people, there is a harsh reality on the ground of New York. Rudy Giuliani has problems. He has Presidential sized problems. In order to really win either the Senate or the Governorship, Rudy Giuliani would have to renounce his Presidential aspirations. New Yorkers tend to be very leery of having someone get into office for two years only to start running for another office. They tend to prefer to have their Senators and Governors paying attention to their job and not wasting time posing for their Presidential Candidate’s photo ops.

Rudy Giuliani then has other major issues. One of those is, of course, his attempt to postpone the election in New York City and continue as Mayor in the wake of 9/11. This is a sore spot for many residents of the city who will bring it up time and again.

Then there are the other issues. Mayor Giuliani was forced into exile from the Mayoral residence during his last divorce. The divorce itself was extremely messy. Giuliani ended up living with two openly gay friends while he and his then wife duked it out in public. The fact that Guiliani is now three times married, and a Catholic, would also be brought to bear, especially if he were to continue to espouse social conservative views on marriage.

It is unclear what Mayor Giuliani’s future is. Voters of New York and members of the press will continue to keep an eye on him.

Politico
New York Daily News