Andrew Giuliani announces GOP bid for N.Y. governor

Andrew Giuliani launched a long-shot 2022 bid for New York governor on Tuesday and vowed to “have a lot of fun” as he seeks to become the first Republican in Albany’s Executive Mansion in nearly two decades.

The 35-year-old son of ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced his campaign in a Twitter video, making him the third candidate to enter the GOP primary race to unseat Gov. Cuomo next year.

“Lots of exciting times around here,” Giuliani, donning a red tie and blue suit, said in the video. “We’re looking forward to saving our state. We’re going to work our butts off, and I tell you what: We’re going to have a lot of fun doing it.”

He was expected to elaborate on his campaign announcement at a press conference in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park on Tuesday afternoon.

Giuliani, who has never run for elected office before, worked as a White House aide for former President Donald Trump, his embattled dad’s most high-profile client.

Besides the White House gig, Giuliani has little prior political experience. He played golf professionally for a stint in the late 2000s and currently works as a contributor for the right-wing media channel Newsmax.

Giuliani’s campaign could prove a serious headache for Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, the other two Republicans in the quixotic primary battle.

Trump, who still retains the elder Giuliani as his personal lawyer, has not endorsed in the GOP gubernatorial race yet, but encouraged Andrew Giuliani to run last month. The ex-president’s eventual endorsement is expected to carry significant weight and clear the way for a front-runner.

Giuliani’s campaign launch comes less than three weeks after his father’s apartment and law office was raided by the FBI as part of a criminal investigation into his 2019 business dealings in Ukraine, many of which overlapped with the pressure campaign that prompted Trump’s first impeachment.

The younger Giuliani was at his father’s apartment when FBI agents conducted the early morning search on April 28. Speaking to reporters after the raid, Andrew Giuliani slammed the federal investigation targeting his father as “disgusting” and “absolutely absurd.”

Despite his legal woes, Rudy Giuliani is expected to play a role in his son’s campaign.

Though his political resume is light, Andrew Giuliani became a familiar name to New Yorkers after late comedian Chris Farley played him in a 1994 “Saturday Night Live” skit that poked fun at an appearance he made at his father’s 1994 mayoral inauguration at City Hall.

New York has not had a Republican governor since Gov. George Pataki left office in 2006. Since then, New York has only grown more Democratic, rendering any Republican bid for statewide office highly unlikely to succeed.

But Giuliani, like Zeldin and Astorino, are hoping Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment and coronavirus mismanagement scandals could give them a leg up in the deep blue state.

“Make Albany Great Again!” Giuliani tweeted last month amid rumors that he was considering a run.

Cuomo, who is expected to seek reelection for a fourth term, could face a Democratic primary challenge amid widespread outrage over his swirling scandals. Attorney General Letitia James, who’s investigating Cuomo over the sexual misconduct claims, has been rumored to be considering a primary campaign.

New York’s general gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 8, 2022.