Will pro-gay
Giuliani run for governor of New York?

While former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani is leading national polls for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, politicians in his home state are beginning to wonder if he might make a run for office closer to home next year: governor. State senator Nicholas Spano noted Thursday that Giuliani agreed to headline the annual Westchester County GOP dinner next week. "It's a very good sign that he is considering a run for governor," said Spano, a former Westchester County Republican Party chairman. "When you start to see potential candidates in the suburban Republican counties, that is a sign that person is interested in statewide office." While that may be wishful thinking from some Republicans, former governor Mario Cuomo, a Democrat, said he believes that if Giuliani decides he can't win the GOP presidential nomination because of his support for abortion, gay rights, and gun control, "I could see him taking a shot at the governorship." Giuliani, whose political stock soared as he led his city through the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has remained popular in Republican circles nationally. He spent much of last year traveling the country on behalf of President Bush's reelection campaign and helping other GOP candidates. The former mayor said recently that it was "way too early" to talk about 2008. He made the comment while in South Carolina, a critical early presidential primary state, at a fund-raiser for the Asian tsunami. Meanwhile, aides have sought to tamp down speculation that Giuliani might run for governor next year, most recently when the New York Post, quoting unidentified New York Republicans, reported this week that while Giuliani's primary focus remained on the presidency, he hadn't ruled out a run for governor. Asked about the Westchester GOP fund-raiser on March 31, Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said: "It doesn't signify anything other than he was invited. This has been on the schedule for a while." (AP)