HEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. - New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who announced he has prostate cancer, said he will decide by the end of May whether to continue his Senate campaign.
The mayor's presence in the race has been the only major threat to Hillary Rodham Clinton's first bid for public office.
Despite being hit with the news of his cancer Thursday, both candidates spent yesterday courting the Independence Party, New York's wing of the national Reform Party.
Courting third parties is a political necessity in a state where major party candidates can also run on third-party ballot lines, but it's also risky business for both Clinton and Giuliani considering the possibility that Pat Buchanan could become the Reform Party's presidential candidate this year.
Clinton flatly told party members yesterday she wouldn't share a ticket with the conservative commentator.
''I cannot and will not, as the price for any endorsement, embrace or excuse those who use hateful rhetoric to separate and divide,'' she told about 100 members of the Independence Party at a forum for Senate candidates.
Clinton, who waited until Friday before agreeing to appear at yesterday's event, also has concerns about the strong influence of Lenora Fulani, a leader of the left-wing New Alliance Party, on the Independence Party. In a strange political marriage, the left-leaning Fulani is backing Buchanan's presidential bid.
''If this party allows itself to become defined by the anti-Semitism, extremism, prejudice and intolerance of a few shrill voices of both the right and the left, you will be doing yourselves and our state a great disservice,'' Clinton said.
Fulani, a Buchanan backer, called Clinton's description of her ''slanderous.''
Fulani also said that the party didn't need advice from Clinton about whom to select as its presidential nominee and said ''that's her problem,'' when asked about the first lady's refusal to share a ticket with Buchanan.
''It's completely up in the air,'' party official Frank MacKay said of the feelings within the party about who the Senate candidate should be. The Independence Party's state convention will be held in late May or early June.
Yesterday was Giuliani's second day of campaigning since announcing that medical tests showed he had prostate cancer. The cancer was detected early and was treatable, he said, but that treatment could mean giving up the campaign.
The mayor has already cut back on his schedule to fit in more medical appointments, though he told Republicans in Saratoga Springs and voters in Buffalo that he wants to stay in the race.
''I would like to run, I'm prepared to do it ... but there's this other thing that I have to consider,'' he said.
The New York City mayor has already begun cutting back on his schedule to deal with his medical problems. He canceled Law Day speeches in Syracuse and Rochester that had been scheduled for tomorrow to accommodate medical appointments.
Referring repeatedly to Senator John McCain in his remarks to the Independence Party members, many of whom admire the Arizona Republican, Giuliani said, ''If you're looking for a candidate that can be honestly described as an independent ... I think we're a natural fit.''
He noted that he supported many of the party's government reform goals, including term limits for elected officials.
The Independence Party, with more than 172,471 members, is the state's third-largest party, followed by the Conservative Party, with 171,496 members. Both are dwarfed by the Democratic Pary, which has 4.96 million members, and the Republican Party with 3.09 million.
There is a possibility that Independence Party convention delegates could authorize a Sept. 12 primary that would feature both Giuliani and Clinton. The mayor said he would welcome that and predicted he would beat her in such a test. The first lady refused to take a position on such a primary.
The attraction of third-party nominations is strong in New York when candidates expect a close race. Polls show the Clinton-Giuliani race is just that. Unlike other states, New York allows major party candidates to also run on third-party ballot lines and combine their vote totals.
