Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos picked up his eighth endorsement last week when the Brooklyn Tea Party tapped the Village of Russell Garden’s resident as its choice to oppose Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand for her seat in the U.S. Senate in November’s general election.

But Maragos also lost the bid last Wednesday to receive the endorsement of one of the state’s most well known Republican politicians.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani formally endorsed U.S. Rep. Bob Turner last week, who is running a campaign to win the Republican Primary on June 26 along with Maragos and New York City lawyer Wendy Long. 

“I respect Rudy Guiliani and his service to New York City as mayor,” Maragos said. “His view, however, that Mr. Turner is the only candidate who can defeat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is absent of any due consideration of the other candidates with better credentials.”

Last year, Turner won a special congressional election to take over the seat representing parts of Queens and Brooklyn, which was vacated by Democrat Anthony Weiner, who resigned in the midst of a scandal involving lewd pictures and text message he sent to various women.

“Bob Turner is the definition of a citizen legislator who took his lifelong business experience to Washington,” Giuliani said in a statement.

Guiliani, who campaigned to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, also endorsed Turner in the race for Weiner’s seat last year.

“Now he is running for Senate for the same reason, to put our country back on a path toward job growth and prosperity,” Guiliani’s statement said of Turner. “He is a proven winner and the only candidate who can defeat the nation’s most liberal senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, in November. I urge my fellow Republicans to join me in supporting him.”

After originally declaring his intention to oppose Gillibrand last August, Maragos has received numerous endorsements from across the state, most notably from Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Mondello and Suffolk County GOP Committee Chairman John Jay LaValle, along with Nassau County Conservative Party Chairman Dan Donovan.

The 62-year-old Maragos has also received endorsements from the Republican Party committees in Washington, Clinton and Rensselaer counties and the Suffolk County 9-12 Project.

A spokeswoman for his campaign said Maragos is likely to pick up more endorsements in the coming weeks before the GOP primary.

“My focus is on winning the Republican Primary on June 26th by organizing a strong get-out-the-vote effort,” Maragos said.

Earlier this month, Maragos was the first of the three candidates to release a statewide television commercial in anticipation of next month’s GOP primary.

The 30-second commercial touts Maragos as “proven business leader and job creator” who is the “only Senate candidate with the track record” to defeat Gillibrand.

In March, Maragos received 27 percent of the vote at the Republican Convention in Rochester to be placed on the primary ballot.

Long received 47 percent of the convention vote, while Turner earned 25 percent.

Over the past five years, Long has served as the chief counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, which is dedicated to procuring the nomination of conservative-leaning justices for the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal judiciary appointments. She has been in the race since February. 

Turner entered the race to oppose Gillibrand in March. He indicated that his intention to run arose because his New York City congressional district was up for elimination due to redistricting.

Gillibrand was appointed to her U.S. Senate seat by former Gov. David Patterson in 2009 after Hillary Clinton was appointed by President Barack Obama to become secretary of state. She then defeated Republican Joseph DioGuardi with 61-percent of the vote in a 2010 special election and is currently campaigning for her first full six-year term.