Mayor Giuliani yesterday said he would be more than willing to face off against Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio — or anyone else — in a Conservative Party primary for the Senate nomination.
“I don’t really think he can stop me from running,” Giuliani said of Conservative Party leader Michael Long — who has griped publicly that Giuliani is too liberal on several key issues.
Behind the scenes, Giuliani’s political aides have hoped for an internal party revolt against Long to ensure that the mayor won’t lose votes to a third-party candidate in a close general election.
Giuliani said that despite Long’s complaints, many rank-and-file Conservatives actually like him.
“It may very well be the Conservative Party will support me. We’ll see,” he told reporters at City Hall.
Lazio backed away from a Senate run last year after Gov. Pataki said the mayor would be the strongest Republican candidate.
In a radio interview on WABC-AM yesterday, Lazio said he might run against Giuliani in the Republican and Conservative primaries — but not in the general election as a spoiler candidate.
Meanwhile, in a fund-raising letter aimed at the religious right, Giuliani hints he’d back displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools, the Village Voice reports today.
“Liberal judges have banned the posting of even the Ten Commandments in our public schools,” the letter said.
Giuliani’s campaign declined comment. As mayor, Giuliani has supported gay rights and abortion — views usually opposed by Christian conservatives.