Report: Weld to Run for New York Governor
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (search) said he plans to seek the Republican nomination for governor of his native New York next year, according to a published report.
"My juices are really flowing for this race, and I want to return to public service," Weld told The New York Times in a telephone interview Thursday while on a business trip in Kentucky.
He said former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (search) encouraged him to run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Messages left at Weld's offices by The Associated Press early Friday were not immediately returned.
Gov. George Pataki said last month he would not seek a fourth term in office. Weld is among a host of Republicans eyeing the GOP nomination. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is the only Democrat seeking his party's nomination thus far.
A victory would make Weld the second American to serve as governor of two states. Sam Houston was governor of Tennessee from 1827 to 1829 and Texas from 1859 to 1861.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The millionaire lawyer was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1990 and was easily re-elected in 1994. After running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1996, Weld resigned as governor when then-President Clinton nominated him to become U.S. ambassador to Mexico a year later. The nomination was blocked in the Senate.
Weld, a partner in the New York investment firm Leeds Weld & Co. (search), moved back to New York state in 2000, thus making himself eligible for the 2006 governor's race. New York has a five-year residency requirement for gubernatorial candidates.