Politics on the Hudson

After being quoted in the New York Times this morning that he would prefer Rudy Giuliani run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, newly elected state GOP chairman Ed Cox told reporters this afternoon that he would fine if Giuliani ran for governor.

“I think he is an executive type, and I think he would be a great candidate for governor. He’d make a great governor,” Cox said after being unanimously elected to the post. “If he chooses, I think he’d also make a great candidate for the Senate. And the Senate, depending on how things work out on the Democratic side, the Senate seat could be a race we could win.”

While he said he hasn’t spoken directly to Giuliani, he said they have been communicating through “staff” and “friends.”

Cox said former Gov. George Pataki would also be a strong candidate for the Senate. He told reporters, and also in his acceptance speech, that Gillibrand is a “political chameleon” and pointed out that she was one of only seven senators to still vote in support of federal aid going to the embattled ACORN.

He told Republicans, “Together and unified we will rebuild our party and we will win elections.”