Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor whose popularity soared after his response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, moved closer to a fully-fledged campaign for the Republican US presidential nomination today.
In a sign that he is serious about running for the White House, the two-term mayor was filing a so-called "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission.
In the process, he was eliminating the phrase "testing the waters" from earlier paperwork establishing his exploratory committee, said an official close to Giuliani's campaign.
Unlike chief Republican rivals Senator John McCain and Governor Mitt Romney, Mr Giuliani has been somewhat ambiguous about whether or not he would ultimately pursue the Republican nomination.
He took the initial step in November of creating a committee to explore a candidacy but added the caveat that he was simply "testing the waters" — a provision that allows truly uncertain candidates to move forward without any commitment to seek a top spot on the ticket or the need to identify donors.
At the time, Mr Giuliani also did not file an official statement declaring that he was a presidential candidate. The steps today put Mr Giuliani on the same level, legally, as Mr McCain and Mr Romney, the other two top-tier Republican candidates who have formed regular exploratory committees and filed statements of candidacy.
AP