Andrew Giuliani Announces 2022 Bid for New York Governor Against Andrew Cuomo: 'I'm in'

Enid Alvarez/getty images Andrew Giuliani

It's official: Andrew Giuliani is running for governor of New York.

Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor and disgraced Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, formally announced his 2022 bid on Tuesday.

"I'm in," Giuliani, 35, told Fox News.

Giuliani framed his upcoming race against current Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the "fight of the century," in an interview with the New 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 his fidgety antics at his father's mayoral inauguration in 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.

In 2018, Axios reported that the younger Giuliani — the son of Rudy's second wife, Donna Hanover — had his West Wing access revoked by Trump's then-Chief of Staff John Kelly. (It was reportedly later restored after Kelly left, according to The Washington Post.)

Giuliani had teased his 2022 run last month, telling The 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."

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Andrew Giuliani

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Cuomo, 63, has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months amid sexual misconduct allegations and backlash over how his office divided the reporting of COVID-19 deaths 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, Politico reported the New York governor is expected to make around $5 million on his memoir about the pandemic.

Cuomo has previously said he'll seek a fourth term but he hasn't formally announced a re-election campaign.

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There hasn't been a Republican governor of New York since George Pataki, who held office from 1995 to 2006.

The younger Giuliani told the New York Post that politics is "in my DNA," referring to his father, who was New York City's mayor from 1994 until 2001.

RELATED: Dominion Voting Systems Sues Rudy Giuliani for $1.3 Billion Over His False 2020 Election Claims

As for the elder Giuliani, he has faced a growing number of legal issues in recent months.

After going around the country pushing Trump's false claims about his 2020 election loss, Giuliani was handed a $1.3 billion lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems in January over his conspiratorial statements about the company.

Then last month, federal agents executed a search warrant on the former mayor's home, ramping up a criminal investigation into his activities with Ukraine.