Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino officially put his name in the running for New York governor on Tuesday.

He gave his first exclusive interview about the race for governor to News 12's Tara Rosenblum outside his Hawthorne home Monday evening.

"I'm back and I'm excited, too," says Astorino.

It's not the first time Astorino ran for New York's top job - he lost the general election race to Gov. Andrew Como back in 2014.

"This time, it's going to be done the right way, and we are going to win it. I gave Cuomo the closest race he's ever had. People don't realize that. We came in really close to Cuomo when I was outspent 8 to 1," he says.

Unlike his last gubernatorial run when he won 46 of the state's 62 counties, Astorino could face a competitive primary, with GOP heavyweights like Rep. Lee Zeldin already in the running.

Andrew Guiliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, is also considering joining the race, and says he's already reached out to his former boss, former President Donald Trump, for his support.

The former county executive says Trump also reached out to him to wish him luck and talk generally about the race.

Astorino says he likes his odds, even though the last time a Republican won statewide office, George Bush was president - nearly two decades ago.

"I've always been popular with Democrats and independents," says Astorino.

He also says most of them want change.

"The city is in a death spiral - look at crime. People don't want to go in the city anymore, there's no such thing as a criminal anymore. The hottest real estate market for New Yorkers is Florida," says Astorino.

Astorino says he has the right formula to keep them here so they can vote for him in the fall.

There at least 10 other Republicans who are currently reportedly considering running on the Republican line for New York governor.