Rudy Giuliani draws fans to his Son Andrew’s campaign events

HAUPPAUGE, NY – On a glaring Saturday afternoon in the heart of Long Island, after hours of sun-kissed speeches by little-known candidates, it was finally Giuliani’s time.

As Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” series filled the air, crowds of about 200 Republican voters swooned at the sounds of a protracted assault against government mandates, socialism and House Committee investigating the riots in the Capitol on January 6.

Dozens of admirers jostled nearby, shooting videos or hoping to snap a selfie. After the speech was over, wise men lined up for the chance to get autographs and don the red hat bearing the last name of the man who seems to be the signature attraction: Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Standing beside him was his son, Andrew, the real candidate in the parallel campaign for governor of New York.

With just over two weeks to go before the Republican primaries on June 28, Andrew Giuliani’s unlikely campaign remains visible and viable in no small part because of their popularity. and the continued popularity and emergence of his father, formerly mayor. of New York City and is the personal attorney of former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Giuliani, 78, has been campaigning regularly with his son since he start running for election last year, often acting as both his warm-up and support act at Israel’s Parade Day and at anniversary marches and press conferences outside City Hall.

His efforts have been applauded by Mr. Giuliani, 36, who is running one of the worst campaigning campaigns ever, driving up and down the state in a collection of donated vans and vans with pages decorate his face, hoping to upset party anointed candidateRepresentative Lee M. Zeldin of Long Island.

Regardless of who wins the nomination, getting into the governor’s mansion will be an uphill battle for Republicans, who have not won statewide office in two decades. Their likely Democratic opponent is Governor Kathy Hochul, who has more than $18 million in his campaign coffers, in a state where more Democrats are registered than Republicans. more than two to one.

“I feel honored that he took the time to help us get to the finish line,” Andrew Giuliani said of his father, after taking dozens of pictures with him. “I feel very, very lucky.”

Of course, political families are not uncommon in New York, where the former governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is the son of another former governor, Mario M. Cuomo. Families like the Addabbos, Weprins and Diazes all produced father-son pairs who became legislators.

Nor is it really surprising that Andrew Giuliani, who famous for camera during his father’s first inauguration in 1994, will count on him for support: He is running for public office for the first time and has a limited record to fall behind.

His main political experience was his four years in the Trump White House, as a special assistant to the president and working in the Office of Public Liaison – hardly classical preparation for Albany.

Mr. Zeldin, a four-term congressman, is far better funded, with more than $3.1 million in campaign funds late last month; Mr. Giuliani has about a tenth of that, according to campaign statements.

Two other candidates – Rob Astorino, a former Westchester County executive, and Harry Wilson, a business turnaround expert – also have more accounts payable than Mr. Giuliani.

And although Mr. Giuliani has a direct connection to Mr. Trump, receiving his endorsement is far from guaranteed. Mr. Zeldin is an ardent Trump supporter who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election in key pivot states, an effort, ironically, that Rudolph Giuliani has led.

A 2008 presidential candidate who was once praised as US mayorMr. Giuliani saw law license is suspended and his public persona has been tarnished, at least in some circles, as a result of his work for Mr. Those activities, in the service of a false narrative of a stolen election, were re-aired last week during primetime hearings of the House committee investigating the Capitol attack on June 1. January 6, 2021.

In a recent interview on Newsmaxright-wing network where he appears as a political analyst, Andrew Giuliani said that while Mr. Trump was “like an uncle to me,” he did not expect an endorsement and that he thought that the former president is “will probably sit this out. ”

That’s not to say the Giulianis family isn’t trying: They both appeared at a recent fundraiser organized by Representative Elise Stefanik at Trump National Golf Club Westchester, where a roundtable discussion and photo session with Rep. the former president is worth $25,000 a person. Mr. Astorino was there, too, close behind; Mr. Zeldin had a pre-commitment.

In his speech at the outdoor reception, the former president offered praise to the younger Giuliani, but the compliments had nothing to do with his political future.

Gerard Kassar, Chairman of the New York Conservative Party, said: “He talked about him, but it was all about golf. approved of Mr. Zeldin. “I don’t believe the president is getting into the race as much as the people of Giuliani want him to.”

There have been few solid polls about the race, although Mr. Giuliani has called himself “Forerunner” were the results of a single online poll from May, which the Zeldin campaign mocked, citing other polls showing Mr Giuliani with higher adverse rating than Mr. Zeldin. (However, Mr. Giuliani received higher name recognition, with better ratings than Mr. Zeldin.)

Katie Vincentz, a spokeswoman for the Zeldin campaign, said the MP intended to “raise the score” on Primary Day to prove he could beat Ms Hochul.

“Lee Zeldin is going to win this race, because the people of New York need him to win this race and save our state,” she said.

Mr. Giuliani and his supporters saw him as a campaign outsider, citing his lack of experience in politics and policy in New York as a real positive.

His foundation is primarily focused on solving crime, promising $5 billion in funding for police forces around the state while also pledging to cut the state budget. He doesn’t hold a grudge against the Trumpian moniker, calling Ms Hochul the “Kathy Crime Wave”.

His father has used some of the same images on the campaign trail as Mr Trump, calling Albany a “swamp” that “must be cleaned up”, echoing the former president’s own rhetoric about Washington during the war translate his 2016 election campaign.

Curtis Sliwa, Last year’s Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, has also plagued the campaign. He supports Mr. Giuliani’s unsuccessfully ran for mayor for the first time in 1989“When Andrew was just a nice kid,” he said.

Today, he said, he supports Andrew because of his focus on crime, which Republicans feel is a matter of winning This election cycle, especially in New York, where opposition to bail reform is a bitter issue for conservatives.

“It is the talk of everyone I deal with,” said Mr. Sliwa, founder of Guardian Angels, the citizen patrol group. “And it’s not just in five counties; it’s statewide. They want to know what the next governor will do about the high crime rate.”

Mr. Giuliani declined requests for an interview, but at various events in Long Island, Albany and suburban Rochester, he was friendly and open to brief questions from New York Times reporters. (Mr Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment.)

But he also told Newsmax last week that he feels “heritage stores” are liberal biased and claimed he disparaged the Times reporter about it. (For the record, he didn’t.)

“I told him, ‘You remind me of Pravda more than the free press right now because you’re so one-sided,'” Mr Giuliani said. “I don’t mind tough questions, but just make sure they’re fair on both sides of the aisle.”

As for how he can manage a nation of 20 million people with no executive experience, his father suggests that he has learned – as many children do – by observation.

“He watched me do it,” Mr. Giuliani said in his speech on Long Island, talking about how to reduce the crime rate, adding, “He knows how to do it.”

However, some Republicans in New York say the young Giuliani is going too far in starting his political career by running for the state’s top office.

“If his name was Andrew Smith, he obviously wouldn’t run for governor,” said John J. Faso, a former Hudson Valley congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2006.

Mr. Giuliani has impressed some with his innate political skills: He is relaxed and welcoming on television and in public, with a wide smile and a more easygoing demeanor than he does. dad is sometimes erratic.

But his campaign rhetoric is modeled after Trump, emphasizing divisive culture war themes, opposing critical race theory and the “war on the police,” and disdain. phrases like “gender dysphoria”.

“I’m not a biologist,” Giuliani said during a campaign stop in Conesus, NY, south of Rochester. “But I know the difference between a man and a woman.”

Married with a young daughter, Mr. Giuliani is an avid golfer who sued after being abandoned. Duke University golf team.

He said he has had little time to gain links since the campaign began, telling one potential voter, Keith Hilpl, that he has played sporadically in the last year, despite even though he caught Mr. Trump.

Mr. Hilpl drove about 80 miles to meet Mr. Giuliani at the Conesus event after listening to him on Steve Bannon’s podcast and visiting his campaign website.

Mr. Hilpl, a software programmer, said: “I have always liked his father. “And I wanted to see if he was made of the same things.”

Sure, he looked impressed, leaving the event wearing a campaign cap and a lawn sign.

Back at the event in Hauppauge, a village in Suffolk County on the edge of Mr. Zeldin’s county, many attendees expressed their adoration clearly for Mr. Giuliani.

“He saved New York,” Penny Cialone, 60, said, adding, “And I think Andrew can do exactly what his father did.”

Young Giuliani happily joked with his father, quickly jumping up when he began to speak.

“We have a tradition of interrupting his speeches,” he said. “I’m not mature at all.”

At the same time, the candidate seems aware of his father’s star power, even as the former mayor hands him the microphone.

Receiving it, Andrew Giuliani said he was grateful his father did not run for governor.

“Because I would be in a lot of trouble,” he said, “if he could.”

Nicholas Fandos contribution report.