Giuliani hiring for possible candidacy

CONCORD, N.H. -- Rudy Giuliani, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 but failed to win a single state, is quietly working to hire political operatives in New Hampshire for a possible second White House bid.

Representatives for the former New York mayor have contacted veteran campaign strategists here in recent days about joining a Giuliani campaign, according to several people with knowledge of the effort.

They said Giuliani's team is concerned that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's all-but-certain campaign could scoop up the few remaining top operatives in the first-in-the-nation primary state, where a host of candidates already have dozens of people on the payroll. One person described Giuliani's aides as having a sense of urgency.

Giuliani, the thrice-married former Democrat, spent roughly $59 million on his first GOP bid in 2008 and won only one delegate to the GOP nominating convention.

He has acknowledged that that bid was flawed, visited New Hampshire four times this year and stayed in touch with some top elected officials in the state.

Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.), for one, was approached by a Giuliani representative as recently as last week, Guinta spokesman J. Mark Powell said. He would not describe the conversation but characterized it as part of a regular communication.

Those close to Giuliani say he hasn't yet decided whether to move forward with a campaign and that he would not make any political appearances in the days before or right after the impending 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.