Giuliani officially not in Senate race

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he won't be running for the U.S. Senate from New York state.

Giuliani, 65, said he instead will concentrate on his law and business concerns, including a contract to provide security consulting at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Albany Times Union reported.

"It would be hard running from Brazil," Giuliani said.

"This is not a decision not to run for anything else. … I have no idea if I'll run for something else or never run again."

Giuliani was mayor from 1994 to 2001. He withdrew from the U.S. Senate race in 2000 after being diagnosed with cancer and ran for the Republican nomination for president last year.

He said he considered running for governor against Gov. David Paterson, a Democrat, and against freshman U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, also a Democrat.

He said he was endorsing former Congressman Rick Lazio for governor but offered no endorsement in the Senate race, though he said former Gov. George Pataki or U.S. Rep. Peter King would make excellent potential candidates.