On paper, Rudy's unsure
Giuliani's government filings don't lend hints to his presidential run - he hasn't submitted a declaration form or checked the Republican box
WASHINGTON - Republicans looking at Rudolph Giuliani's campaign for president always ask two questions - is he really running, and is he a "real Republican?"
They're probably not going to like the answers found by Newsday in Giuliani's government filings.
The ex-mayor still is holding back from submitting the simple one-page form declaring himself a possible candidate, despite raising $1.4 million to run. And asked what party he belongs to on a different form, Giuliani didn't say - he left the answer blank.
Not so for chief rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney. Both have filed the candidacy paperwork, and both gave a straightforward answer when asked their party affiliation: "Rep," or Republican.
Giuliani's campaign insisted he isn't spending enough to file a statement of candidacy - a view one election-law expert disputed last night - and that leaving out his party was a meaningless omission.
"The mayor continues to be a proud member of the Republican Party, and we are extremely encouraged by the response from Republicans across the country to his potential run for president," Giuliani spokeswoman Katie Levinson said.
The documents appear likely to fuel doubts among Republicans about whether Giuliani really wants to run. Many still remember his on-again, off-again interest in running for Senate in 2000, a campaign he ultimately quit after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The seeming dodge on his party affiliation, however, could make some Republicans see red.
It's no secret Giuliani would have a better shot at the White House if he didn't have to win the Republican nomination first. His views on social issues are out of step with his party.
And the omission raises the question of whether Giuliani is leaving the door open a crack to run not as a Republican at all, but as an independent.
Giuliani's campaign confirmed that leaving off the Republican designation wasn't a typo. It was the campaign's "judgment that we didn't have to fill in that box," said a campaign lawyer. The lawyer said an update filed Wednesday lists him as a Republican, though that form couldn't be found on the Federal Election Commission Web site.
The lawyer said Giuliani held back a statement of candidacy in November because he genuinely wasn't sure he'd run. He's still just "testing the waters," the lawyer said, on condition of anonymity.
Another election-law expert, Kenneth Gross, said Giuliani's spending exceeds the FEC cut-off for merely testing a possible race and that he now should file the added paperwork.
This isn't Giuliani's first unusual filing. In 1998, he filed a statement of candidacy - but put on the line for office sought "undecided." Responding to an FEC query, he replied, "I am as of now still undecided as to the federal office, if any, for which I may become a candidate."
Staff writer Tom Brune contributed to this story.
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
