Albany (WBEN Newsroom)  -- Erie County Executive Chris Collins could soon be swapping titles. According to a report in the NY Post, Collins is next in line should former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani decide against a run for governor.

State GOP leaders quoted say Collins, who is in just his second year as county executive, is interested. former U-S Senator Alfonse D'amato told the Post "he recently came to see me and I came away sure he was interested in running for governor."

Collins name first began to surface in Albany earlier this year. At that time, he told WBEN's Barbara Burns "its come up...never say never." But Collins went on to say "I love what I'm doing and I love bringing the fight to Albany...while that's not my focus, I'm very aware of what goes on in Albany and there are those who say well you can make a bigger difference for Erie County if you were in that role."

Collins declined comment today but relased this statement:

"I am humbled and encouraged by the attention that our success in Erie County is generating across New York State. Whether it’s been fundamentally reforming county government, signing historic labor agreements that actually respect taxpayers or cutting discretionary spending by 25%, every decision we’re making in Erie County is based on providing value to taxpayers.”