Former New York City Mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani could make a race out of the 2010 governor's contest, if early polling is any indication.

A Rasmussen poll of likely voters conducted July 14 showed that not only is Giuliani leading unpopular Democratic incumbent David A. Paterson by more than 20 percentage points, but he's also within single digits of highly popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In a hypothetical match-up, Cuomo, a Democrat, leads Giuliani 48 percent to 41 percent with 6 percent supporting another candidate and 6 percent unsure.

Another poll augurs a close primary contest between New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney in 2010.

A Rasmussen survey of likely Democratic voters conducted July 14 found that 33 percent supported Maloney and 27 percent supported Gillibrand in a hypothetical match-up. That spread is just outside the 5 percent margin of error. Thirty percent of respondents were unsure whom they would vote for.

The poll's results aren't very conclusive since neither Gillibrand nor Maloney are particularly well known to the Democratic electorate.

Forty-nine percent had a favorable or somewhat favorable impression of their sitting senator, 25 percent had a somewhat or very unfavorable impression and 26 percent were unsure. Maloney registered similar numbers - 42 percent held a favorable or somewhat favorable view of the Manhattan-based House member, 24 percent viewed her unfavorably and 34 percent were unsure.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is statistically tied with Rep. Carolyn Maloney when matched up in a Democratic primary in 2010, according to a Marist poll conducted June 23-29.

Should she get past Maloney, Gillibrand leads two Republicans matched-up with her in the poll, but the one over whom she has the most comfortable lead - Rep. Peter King - has signaled he would not make the race because of the huge amounts of campaign money he would have to raise.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand trails Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a likely primary rival, 23 percent to 27 percent, in a new Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey that suggests that contest could be anybody's race.

Of the registered Democrats who responded to the poll, 44 percent called themselves undecided.

Labor activist Jonathan Tasini was barely on the boards, as the favorite of 4 percent of respondants.

New York voters seem to be taking time to make up their minds about their appointed senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.

Fully 43 percent of respondents in the latest Marist poll couldn't rate her job performance, while 19 percent said she was doing an excellent or good job and 38 percent said she was performing either fair or poor in her new office.

In hypothetical head-to-head matchups, Gillibrand trailed former Republican Gov. George Pataki -- of the 1,029 registered voters surveyed on April 28 and 29, 38 percent preferred Gillibrand while 46 percent favored Pataki. When pollsters asked the same question in March, the outcome was 45 percent for Gillibrand and 41 percent for Pataki.