Republican gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Giuliani ripped into rival Lee Zeldin as a clone of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo after accusing the Zeldin camp of leading an effort to have him knocked off the primary ballot.

Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani who served as a White House aide to former President Donald Trump, filed 24,579 signatures to qualify for ballot status.

Fifteen thousand valid signatures from registered Republicans are needed to earn a spot on the ballot.

But specific objections were filed Thursday with the state Board of Elections against at least 8,776 signatures collected by Giuliani.

“I know Lee Zeldin thought Andrew Cuomo would be a good president. Now he’s playing the Cuomo game at the Board of Elections,” Giuliani said Thursday night. “Lee Zeldin loves Andrew Cuomo. Now he’s acting like him.” 

Giuliani was referring to a glowing comment Zeldin made about Cuomo — captured on videotape — when Zeldin was a state senator in 2011.

“I would honestly say that if you were in the White House right now, our nation would be in a better place today than it is,” Zeldin said of Cuomo at a press conference.

Cuomo has become the GOP’s bogeyman after the three-term Democratic governor resigned under the threat of impeachment last August following a state attorney general’s investigative report substantiated accusations that he harassed or mistreated multiple women.

Meanwhile, Giuliani also claimed that John Haggerty, a GOP operative who was convicted of stealing $750,000 of  Mike Bloomberg’s money during Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election campaign, is helping Zeldin.

“These actions make Zeldin unqualified to be governor,” Giuliani fumed.

General objections were also filed against two other candidates seeking the GOP nomination — former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, the 2014 GOP nominee for governor and businessman Harry Wilson, the 2010 Republican candidate for state comptroller.

That’s an indication that specific challenges may be filed against their petitions as well.

Wilson collected 36,000 signatures and Astorino more than 20,000.

The state Republican Party designated Zeldin, a congressman from Long Island, as its presumptive designee and therefore he did not have to collect voter signatures to get on the ballot.

Like Giuliani, both Astorino and Wilson said Zeldin is trying to stifle competition.

“We don’t do coronations in NY. Nearly 90,000 rank/file Republicans signed petitions for other candidates. For@leezeldin  to try &disqualify their voice using political/legal threats is Cuomo-style gutter tactics. No surprise considering Lee served 4yrs in Albany as top Cuomo ally,” Astorino said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Wilson tweeted, “@leezeldin  is telling 80,000 NY Republicans demanding a primary that 300 insiders who picked him know better. We knew this was coming. Why is Lee so afraid of a primary? Because he is `the most broadly rejected designee’ in NY GOP history.”

Zeldin’s campaign declined requests for comment.

The state Republican Party leadership, which is backing Zeldin, said it’s not filing any objections against the other candidates and referred the Post to the Zeldin campaign.

Recent polls show Zeldin in the lead.

The winner will face off against the Democratic nominee. Sitting Gov. Kathy Hochul is considered the front-runner in polls as she faces off against city Public Advocate Jumaane Wiliams and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi in the Democratic primary.