Weld may seek New York governor's job

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NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is considering a run for the same job in New York, The New York Times reported Friday.

Should Weld, a Republican governor in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts from 1991-97, become New York's governor he would be only the second person in U.S. history to have been governor over two states. The other was Sam Houston, who led Tennessee from 1827-29 and Texas from 1859-61.

Weld is a native New Yorker and told the Times he planned to push a platform of cutting taxes and promotion of social liberalism.

With Gov. George Pataki, another Republican, deciding not the seek a fourth term, Weld said former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had encouraged him to run. The likely Democratic Party nominee for New York governor is state Attorney General Elliot Spitzer.

"My juices are really flowing for this race and I want to return to public service," Weld told the Times.

A Democratic consultant told the newspaper Weld is a virtual unknown in New York and would "have to spend half the time proving that he's really a New Yorker before he can even get to the issues."