All About Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani isn't putting the brakes on his U.S. Senate run. The Giuliani campaign has bought more than $750,000 worth of television time for May, attempting to signal that the New York City mayor is moving "full steam ahead," despite his battle with prostate cancer, reports Francesca Gessner of the CBS News Political Unit.
Giuliani spokeswoman Juleanna Glover-Weiss declined to reveal the exact cost of the statewide ads, but confirmed it will be the campaign's largest ad purchase to date.
Glover-Weiss said the ads will highlight "the mayor's authenticity and candor." A television crew will accompany Giuliani on the campaign trail this week to shoot footage for the new ads.
Giuliani's campaign hopes the ad blitz will help quell lingering doubts about whether the GOP mayor will stay in the Senate race against First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, given his prostate cancer diagnosis.
"This magnitude of an airtime buy is a very significant investment in the future of this campaign," said Glover-Weiss.
Giuliani also faces a new challenge from his political right. Former Congressman Joseph J. DioGuardi, a conservative, said he will seek the Senate nominations of the Conservative, Right-to-Life and Independence parties.
"We have two social liberals in the race," DioGuardi told The New York Times in its Monday edition. "There's a clear need for a conservative alternative."
A DioGuardi campaign seems likely to hurt the GOP mayor by siphoning off votes from right-wing Republicans. Since 1974, no Republican candidate has won a statewide race in New York without Conservative Party support.
While the three political parties in question are small, many political observers say they could play a key role in the tight race between Giuliani and Clinton.
The 60-year-old DioGuardi, an accountant from Ossining in suburban Westchester County, was a two-term incumbent who narrowly lost his seat in 1988 to Democrat Nita Lowey. In 1992, he tried to reclaim the seat, but lost to Lowey again. In 1994, DioGuardi entered a Republican primary in a neighboring congressional district, but lost that race to Sue Kelly. He then ran against Kelly - the GOP candidate - on the Conservative and Right to Life Party lines in the general election, only to lose again.
Last but not least, a potential embarrassment for Giuliani is off the calendar, at least for now. Donna Hanover, the mayor's wife, said she's postponing her performance in a sexually suggestive off-Broadway play.
Hanover didn't mention her husband by name when she issued a terse statement that said, "Due to personal family circumstances, I have decided to postpone my performance in The Vagina Monologues.'"
The play, written by Eve Ensler, consists of monologues delivered by three different actresses and includes discussion of orgasms, pelvic exams, sexual abuse, sexual fantasies and childbirth.
Hanover was scheduleto appear from May 30 through June 11 with Kirstie Alley and Hazelle Goodman. There was no immediate word on who would replace her, but producer David Stone said, "We look forward to having her rejoin the show at a future date."
Giuliani refuses to discuss his relationship with Hanover despite reports that their 16-year marriage is strained. Last week, Hanover issued a statement of support after her husband's cancer announcement.