Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew announces run for New York governor

Andrew Giuliani, the son of the embattled Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has announced he will run for New York governor in 2022.

The 35-year-old, who served as a special assistant in Trump’s White House and is a former contributor to the hard rightwing Newsmax television channel, made the announcement on Tuesday, declaring: “I’m a politician out of the womb.”

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If successful in the Republican primary, Giuliani would take on Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic incumbent who has refused to step down despite a number of women accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The election would represent a clash of New York political dynasties – Giuliani’s father, Rudy Giuliani, served as New York City’s mayor from 1994 to 2001, and Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, was governor of New York from 1983 to 1994.

“Giuliani v Cuomo. Holy smokes. Its Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier. We can sell tickets at Madison Square Garden,” Giuliani told the New York Post.

He added: “It would be one of the epic showdowns in the state’s history.”

The campaign website for Giuliani offers no policy information, but the Post reported that he will be “pro-business, pro-police, pro-school choice”.

The budding politician has little in the way of political, or even career experience. He became a golf pro in 2016, and appears to have pursued the sport with little success for several years.

Aside from playing golf, Giuliani’s website lists his experience as being limited to three internships and a stint volunteering on Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Despite this thin résumé Giuliani served as a special assistant to Trump during the latter’s presidency, although his duties appear to have been vague and ill-defined. In 2019 the Atlantic quoted a senior White House official who said Giuliani “doesn’t really try to be involved in anything”, adding: “He’s just having a nice time.”

Giuliani did have at least one recurring role, the Atlantic reported: as a frequent golf partner to Trump.

Giuliani may have the name recognition in the Republican primary, but to challenge Cuomo he would first have to defeat Lee Zeldin, a congressman from Long Island, and Rob Astorino, a former county executive of Westchester county, just north of New York City.

Zeldin, like Giuliani, is an enthusiastic Trump supporter who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, giving him some hope of an endorsement from Trump. Astorino, meanwhile, has the experience in the race. He ran against Cuomo in 2014, losing by 14 points.