The already small crop of candidates running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination might be bolstered by one more if former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani decides to jump in the ring.

And according to his close and longtime associate, New York Republican Rep. Peter King, Giuliani is considering doing just that.

Giuliani is very close to saying he's going to run, King said at a dinner with reporters in Washington, the Washington Examiner reported. If he were to make the decision today, he would run.

King also said that Giuliani has been keeping a low profile while lining up support and exploring a campaign strategy.

Giuliani - despite being an early frontrunner, riding on the fame won for his leadership of New York City following the Sept. 11 attacks -- ultimately ran unsuccessfully in 2008. He notably skipped campaigning in the early voting states, deciding to focus his energies on the Florida primary. After placing third, he withdrew from the race and supported eventual Republican nominee John McCain.

In a CNN/WMUR poll, released Monday by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, Giuliani ranks third with six percent of Republican votes, significantly behind frontrunner Mitt Romney, who has a percentage of 32, but ahead of Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Sarah Palin, who has not announced if she is running.

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