Andrew Giuliani.Photo: Enid Alvarez/getty images
It’s official:Andrew Giulianiis running for governor of New York.
Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor and disgracedDonald TrumplawyerRudy Giuliani, formally announced his 2022 bid on Tuesday.
“I’m in,” Giuliani, 35,toldFox News.
Giuliani framed his upcoming race against current Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the “fight of the century,” inan interviewwith theNew York Post, noting the two families' political history in the state.
“Giuliani vs. Cuomo. Holy smokes,” he said. “It’s Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. We can sell tickets at Madison Square Garden.”
Giuliani, who first gained public notice as a 7-year-old with hisfidgety antics at his father’s mayoral inaugurationin 1994, is married to 41-year-old Zivile Rezgyte, has never run for or held public office.
He worked in Trump’s administration, joining the White House in 2017 for a role in the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Giulianihad teasedhis 2022 run last month, tellingThe Washington Examiner, “outside of anybody named Trump, I think I have the best chance to win and take the state back” for the Republican Party.
On Tuesday, he told Fox News he’s “proud” of his “friendship” with Trump and said “I will never run away from that.”
Andrew Giuliani.Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images
Cuomo, 63, has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months amidsexual misconduct allegationsand backlash over how his office divided the reporting ofCOVID-19deaths at nursing homes.
Cuomo has denied the misconduct allegations and an independent investigation is ongoing; he called his office’s handling of COVID-19 death data “a mistake.” On Tuesday, Politicoreportedthe New York governor is expected to make around $5 million on his memoir about the pandemic.
Cuomo haspreviously saidhe’ll seek a fourth term but he hasn’t formally announced a re-election campaign.
There hasn’t been a Republican governor of New York since George Pataki, who held office from 1995 to 2006.
The younger Giuliani told theNew York Postthat politics is “in my DNA,” referring to his father, who was New York City’s mayor from 1994 until 2001.
As for the elder Giuliani, he has faced a growing number of legal issues in recent months.
Then last month, federal agents executed asearch warranton the former mayor’s home, ramping up a criminal investigation into his activities with Ukraine.
source: people.com
