Rudy Giuliani will not run for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in 2010 according to Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York. Himself interested in the post, King told MSNBC the news on Wednesday.
The announcement, which King took as common knowledge, is nevertheless news in some political circles. Giuliani has long been rumored to have his eye on higher office (see: 2008 Republican Primary) and flirted with a bid for the Senate in 2000. But according to King, the former New York mayor won't make a play for the Republican nomination, which will be up for special election in 2010. Instead, he will throw his support behind the Long Island congressman.
"He told me he would support me for the Senate. That's what Rudy told me he was going to do," King said on MSNBC. "As for what else Rudy is going to do, you'll have to talk to Rudy. But he told me he was going to support me for the United States Senate."
"There would be no primary with Rudy at all," King later said. "Rudy and I have been friends many years. I spoke with him yesterday. And again... he is endorsing me, supporting me for the U.S. Senate if I run."
Assuming that Giuliani is, in fact, committed to getting back in politics, that leaves a run for the governor's seat in 2010 as the only real, short term, option.