ALBANY — Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani yesterday praised the man he could face at the polls next year, saying Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would be a “very formidable” candidate in the race for governor.
“Andrew is a person I consider a friend, and I think Andrew is a very formidable person in every respect,” Republican Giuliani, who is testing the waters for a race for governor in 2010, said during an interview on Talk1300-AM in Albany.
“So if he were a candidate for anything, I think he would be a strong candidate,” Giuliani continued. Giuliani made his remarks just minutes after a Siena College poll showed Democrat Cuomo beating the ex-mayor, 53 percent to 39 percent, in a general-election matchup.
Giuliani, who came to the capital to meet with leaders and address an Albany County GOP dinner, insisted that it was “way too premature” for him to decide whether he’ll run for governor next year.