In a sign that the Republican presidential field may still be far from settled, three major GOP figures not yet in the race held a series of high-profile get-togethers in New York yesterday.
At the center of the would-be-candidate circus was Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and 2008 presidential candidate, who had an early morning meeting with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and later lunched with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Perry and Christie are the two GOP names most frequently mentioned as a possible late entrants to the race — although Christie has said repeatedly and adamantly he does not intend to run.
Giuliani, meanwhile, has made little secret of his ambition, after a failed 2008 campaign that stumbled early thanks to a plethora of strategic mistakes, including the decision to skip most of the early primaries.
NBC News reported that Giuliani was trying to find out if Christie truly planned to stay out of the race, with the understanding that the New Jersey governor could pose a significant obstacle to Giuliani’s path to the nomination.
“I just think that he harbors ambitions to be president, and it’s an undying flame,” said George Arzt, a longtime New York political analyst. “He will test the waters, and see if he is a viable candidate.”
Last month, Giuliani himself acknowledged that he was considering a run, but had “not yet” made a decision.
Advisers to the former mayor did little to dissuade this line of thinking yesterday, although they have remained coy about the exact purpose of Giuliani’s meetings yesterday, with one adviser describing the meals as “simply courtesy visits/meetings between longtime friends.”
Meanwhile, a WSJ/NBC News poll released last night found Romney gaining support. Of voters who said they were likely to vote in the Republican primaries next year, 30 percent said they back the former Massachusetts governor, up from 21 percent last month.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has yet to say whether she is running, came in a distant second, with 14 percent support. Other leading hopefuls, such as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of Minnesota, are in single digits.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted between June 9 and 13, which means it doesn’t measure the impact of Monday night’s GOP debate.
At the center of the would-be-candidate circus was Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and 2008 presidential candidate, who had an early morning meeting with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and later lunched with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Perry and Christie are the two GOP names most frequently mentioned as a possible late entrants to the race — although Christie has said repeatedly and adamantly he does not intend to run.
Giuliani, meanwhile, has made little secret of his ambition, after a failed 2008 campaign that stumbled early thanks to a plethora of strategic mistakes, including the decision to skip most of the early primaries.
NBC News reported that Giuliani was trying to find out if Christie truly planned to stay out of the race, with the understanding that the New Jersey governor could pose a significant obstacle to Giuliani’s path to the nomination.
“I just think that he harbors ambitions to be president, and it’s an undying flame,” said George Arzt, a longtime New York political analyst. “He will test the waters, and see if he is a viable candidate.”
Last month, Giuliani himself acknowledged that he was considering a run, but had “not yet” made a decision.
Advisers to the former mayor did little to dissuade this line of thinking yesterday, although they have remained coy about the exact purpose of Giuliani’s meetings yesterday, with one adviser describing the meals as “simply courtesy visits/meetings between longtime friends.”
Meanwhile, a WSJ/NBC News poll released last night found Romney gaining support. Of voters who said they were likely to vote in the Republican primaries next year, 30 percent said they back the former Massachusetts governor, up from 21 percent last month.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has yet to say whether she is running, came in a distant second, with 14 percent support. Other leading hopefuls, such as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both of Minnesota, are in single digits.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted between June 9 and 13, which means it doesn’t measure the impact of Monday night’s GOP debate.
