A political action committee organized to support Republican candidate Joe Lhota in the upcoming New York City mayoral race is being backed by Tea Party billionaire David Koch.
The New York Times reports Koch and his wife Julia each donated $175,000 to the committee, New Yorkers for Proven Leadership, which began airing new television ads for Lhota on Wednesday.
“We’re a group of New Yorkers who believe that Joe Lhota provides the best hope for the future of our city and who provides the kind of leadership we saw from Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg over the last 20 years,” said Michael McKeon, a spokesman for the PAC.
The ads say Lhota is the only candidate who can keep the city's crime rate low, and tout the endorsement of Rudy Giuliani.
[Watch the ads above and below.]
Several former aides to Giuliani are involved in the PAC. Lhota himself served under the Giuliani administration as a deputy mayor.
Giuliani will be keeping a low profile in the PAC, however.
"It's completely separate from him," said McKeon. "This is simply a group of New Yorkers who want to make sure that the leadership that Rudy and Bloomberg provided to this city continues."
Giuliani has remained relatively low key in the campaign, as political observers believe a more prominent role could potentially hurt Lhota due to Giuliani's more conservative positions in recent years.
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