I just spoke with Wayne Semprini, who is the newly-appointed chairman of the Giuliani Exploratory Committee in NH (and was, until Saturday, the chairman of the NH Republican Party). When I asked him what he thought of the Beltway buzz that Giuliani will drop out of the Presidential race like he did the 2000 Senate race, Semprini laughed. “What can I say to that? I hope that he doesn’t have a potential life-threatening illness this time,” Semprini said, in reference to Giuliani’s bout with prostate cancer. “That’s what took him out of it the last time.”
I also taked to him about the strength of the McCain and Romney organizations in the state, and he said the Giuliani team was starting to get aggressive. He said he’s been bombarded with phone calls from people who want to join the campaign following Rudy’s trip to NH over the weekend, which he said was “incredibly well-received.” In just his first two days on the job, Semprini has already “penciled in” 19 Giuliani events with Granite State civic and business groups and political committees. They’re also in the process of negotiating a lease for office space.
Does this sound like someone who isn’t running?