The following is reported by NY1: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is calling a report that he will not run for governor in 2010 “premature.”

The New York Times is reporting that the the two-term mayor and unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate has chosen not to take on the Democratic nominee in a statewide election.

An authoritative Republican party source told NY1 that Giuliani is quietly letting it be known that he is not interested in the job and is actually looking at running for the U.S. Senate.

A top aide to Giuliani, Jake Menges, is insisting that any talk about Giuliani not running for governor is “premature.”

“While governor is the race that most people have associated his name with, there is an important responsibility for the party to find a strong United States Senate challenger,” said Erie County Republican Party Chairman Jim Domagalski.

A spokeswoman for the former mayor said in a statement, “Rudy has a history of making up his own mind and has no problem speaking it. When Mayor Giuliani makes a decision about serving in public office, he will inform New Yorkers on his own.”

Some observers had expected Giuliani to make an announcement about his political plans earlier this week when speaking at a Republican dinner on Staten Island, but he left the crowd without an answer, telling them only that he would make a decision later.

“I think he wants to influence the national agenda. You can’t do that being governor. You can’t do that, to the extent he wants to do that, by going on a national circuit, campaigning for other elected officials. I think you can do that being a United States Senator,” said Staten Island Councilman James Oddo.

So far, the only Republican candidate in the governor’s race is former Long Island Congressman Rick Lazio.

“My intention is to move forward, regardless of other people’s decisions. To continue to take this debate to New York and when elected bring about sweeping overhaul of state government,” Lazio said.

In a hypothetical matchup, a Marist survey released Thursday found 54 percent of registered voters statewide would support the former mayor, compared to 40 percent for Gillibrand.

And it appears winning the republican nomination is no problem.

The poll also found Giuliani would crush former Governor George Pataki, nearly three to one with 71 percent of voters saying they would support Giuliani, compared to 24 percent for Pataki.

Marist polled 805 voters across the state, including 216 Republicans over the past week.

The margin of error is 3.5 percent in the first survey and 7 percent in the second.

Other polls have shown Giuliani far ahead of Governor David Paterson in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up but he did not fare nearly as well when matched up against State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who many expect to enter the governor’s race in 2010.

Some speculate that Giuliani may not run for governor to not get involved in a bruising, and potentially losing, battle against Cuomo.

(Source: NY1)