New York Times | May 20, 2000
By Daniel J. Wakin and Adam Nagourney

New York -- Beset by cancer and marital strife, a contrite- sounding Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Friday that he would drop out of the race for U.S. Senate, clearing an obstacle for Hillary Rodham Clinton and setting off a scramble by the Republican Party for a substitute.

"I've decided what I should do is to put my health first, and that I should devote the focus and attention that I should to being able to figure out the best treatment, and not running for office," Giuliani said. "This is not the right time to run for office."

Giuliani said that because of the cancer, he did not have the confidence that he could be the kind of candidate he would want to be.

"My concentration isn't going to be there," he said.

Republican leaders, including Giuliani and Gov. George Pataki, united quickly behind Rep. Rick A. Lazio, a four-term Republican from Long Island, as a replacement candidate. And within two hours of Giuliani's announcement, Lazio said that he would seek the nomination.

Another Long Island Republican, Rep. Peter T. King, said he also would like to run but acknowledged that Lazio had the support of the governor.

Clinton, the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat, said that she had called Giuliani after his remarks to wish him well and that he had thanked her.

"I hope and pray, as all New Yorkers do, that we all wish him a full and speedy recovery," Clinton said. She turned aside questions about how his withdrawal would affect her campaign, saying that "today we all ought to just wish the mayor the very best."

Addressing reporters in reflective tones, Giuliani spoke of wrestling acutely with the "most difficult decision" of his life, spending a sleepless night and then calling friends and Republican leaders Friday morning to tell them of his decision.

Giuliani's decision came after a tumultuous three-week period. Giuliani first announced that he had been diagnosed with the early stages of prostate cancer, and then said he was seeking a separation from his wife, Donna Hanover, after 16 years of marriage. At the same time, Giuliani has increasingly been seen in public with an Upper East Side woman he described as a "very good friend."

In one of the most remarkable turns for a supremely self- confident politician who rarely backed down and routinely dismissed his critics, Giuliani said his illness had taught him a sense of compassion.

Along with continuing to devote himself to his job as mayor, Giuliani said, he would strive "to overcome maybe some of the barriers that maybe I placed there, and figure out how to overcome them."

Giuliani did not specify what he would do to overcome those barriers or even what they were, but he said that "it means I'm going to try to reach out to more people, to try to help more people."

He said many in the city had felt a sense of optimism during his administration, but for those who haven't, "I'm going to dedicate myself to try to figure out how to get them to feel that, too."

His cancer, he added later, had helped him feel more compassion for those who must face health problems and that he ought to try to improve health care for New Yorkers.

"It doesn't mean there's going to be a new Rudy," the notoriously combative mayor said. "I think there's going to be a different -- maybe somebody who grows from the fact that you confront your limits, you confront your mortality, you realize you're not a superman and just a human being.

"I'm going to try to make sure that I'm a better mayor and this is a better administration, and it accomplishes the goal of reaching every person that we can reach, and making sure that every New Yorker feels that I'm dedicated to them, that I want to protect them."

Lazio, 42, who had considered challenging Giuliani for the nomination, had begun reviving his campaign in recent days. He said he would formally kick off his campaign this afternoon at West Islip High School on Long Island.

New York Republicans are scheduled to pick a nominee at a state convention May 30 in Buffalo. Republican leaders said Pataki would have been the strongest candidate but does not want the job.

Pataki issued a statement of support for the mayor that concluded by bashing Clinton. "I know that we will unite behind a strong candidate who will beat Hillary Clinton and her belief in big government," Pataki said. "Rest assured, the Republican Party will not need to import a candidate."

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican candidate for president, had the same message. He faxed a statement saying Giuliani should be proud of the job he has done as mayor and then added that "I'm confident that the New York Republican Party will nominate a New Yorker who will be able to win."