Rudy Giuliani’s Son Andrew Says He’s Running for Governor of New York in 2022

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Andrew Giuliani

The Giulianis say they are coming back to New York politics.

Andrew Giuliani, the 35-year-old son of former New York City mayor-turned-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, this week announced his plan to run in the state's 2022 gubernatorial election.

The Republican hopeful would need to win his party's nomination before taking on the Democratic nominee, who could be embattled incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo should Cuomo seek another term.

"I plan to run," Andrew told The Washington Examiner on Wednesday.

"Outside of anybody named Trump, I think I have the best chance to win and take the state back," said Andrew, who is a political analyst with the conservative Newsmax cable TV network.

He added: "I think there's an opportunity in 2022 with a wounded Democratic candidate, whether it's going to be Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo, whether it's going to be a radical [Attorney General] Letitia James, whether it's going to be a no-name lieutenant governor, I think there's a very, very real chance to win."

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.")

Nonetheless, Republicans likely face a major challenge in seeking the state's highest office. New York has not had a Republican governor since George Pataki, from 1995 to 2006.

Before his scandals, Cuomo had said he would seek a fourth term. Despite the intense criticism he subsequently faced, polling has shown a mixed response from state voters on whether he should step down.

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Carmen Valdes/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Rudy Giuliani (center) his son Andrew (right) and his daughter Caroline (left) at his wedding to Judith Nathan

Enid Alvarez/getty images Andrew Giuliani

The younger Giuliani, who is married to 41-year-old Zivile Rezgyte, has never held public office before.

Andrew did work in former President Donald Trump's administration, joining the White House in 2017 with a role in the Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

He made brief headlines in November when he tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a crowded indoor press conference held by his father, who was trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results for Trump, his client at the time.

The elder Giuliani, 76, contracted the virus days later and both recovered. (Andrew's sister, Caroline, is a filmmaker who has been outspoken about her political differences with their dad.)

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"I believe I can win the race," Andrew told the Examiner. "I think I'm the right candidate, and this is the right time to help change New York State, and we've got a playbook that works."

He's not the only Republican who thinks so: Rep. Lee Zeldin on Thursday said he would also run next year, casting himself in opposition to Cuomo.

But Zeldin, a former Army officer, may have his own challenges: He is a pro-Trump Republican in a state that largely despises the former president.

"The bottom line is this: To save New York, Andrew Cuomo's gotta go," he said in his announcement.

"The New York that was once a magnet for the world's best and brightest is now forcing its own to leave under the crushing weight of skyrocketing taxes, lost jobs, suffocating regulations, and rising crime resulting from dangerously liberal policies," Zeldin said.