Rick Lazio says it's time for him to get back into politics.
Nine years after losing a high-profile race for the U.S. Senate to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former Long Island congressman is scheduled to announce on Tuesday that he's running for governor.
Lazio has worked in the banking industry for nearly a decade, but he says now that his two daughters are approaching college age, he's ready for a return to the spotlight.
Lazio says his prior government experience including over a decade in Congress, combined with his recent work in the private sector, makes him "uniquely qualified'' to lead the state.
So far, he is the only announced Republican running for governor. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he's thinking about it.
A recent Marist poll found that Giuliani would thrash Lazio 83 percent to 13 percent in a hypothetical 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary.
