Andrew Giuliani to run for New York governor

Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, plans to announce Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for governor of New York.

Giuliani, 35, served four years in the Trump administration. Though he has never held public office, he told the New York Post he has politics in his blood. 

“I’m a politician out of the womb. It’s in my DNA,” he told the paper.

Giuliani said he plans to run as a disruptive outsider, in the vein of both his father and the president he served. He cast his bid to unseat three-term Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in grand terms, as a clash between two political dynasties. 

“Giuliani vs. Cuomo. Holy smokes. It’s Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. We can sell tickets at Madison Square Garden,” he said. “It would be one of the epic showdowns in the state’s history.”

But before he gets to a general election, Giuliani will face an increasingly crowded Republican primary. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R) has already launched a campaign and locked up support from many county party officials. Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino (R) is also running, eight years after he lost to Cuomo. 

Several other top Republicans are also said to be considering the race, including Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro (R), who lost to Cuomo in 2018.

Cuomo has a litany of his own problems ahead of him. He has been accused of improper behavior by multiple women, and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic has come under increased scrutiny by skeptical legislators angry over his administration’s efforts to conceal death tolls in nursing homes. 

Cuomo faces an investigation that could lead to an impeachment effort by the Democratic-controlled legislature, and a separate inquiry by Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) office. James is said to be considering her own run for the state’s top office.

Democrats have held New York’s governorship since 2007, when George Pataki (R) left office. President Biden won the state with 61 percent of the vote.