Giulliani is out of Race-Supports McCain

Mr. McCain scored a slim but decisive victory over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. With 92 per cent of the ballots counted, the Arizona senator had won 36 per cent of the vote, five points ahead of Mr. Romney, who told supporters after the polls closed he had called Mr. McCain to congratulate him. Mr. Giuliani stood at 15 per cent.

"Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions but it is sweet nonetheless," a jubilant Mr. McCain told supporters in Miami.

Earlier, he told The Associated Press his victory shows, "I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party."

John McCain's hopes of carrying Republican colours in the U.S. presidential election were given a huge boost by his victory yesterday in the Florida primary. And he will confirm his front-runner status headed into next week's Super Tuesday if, as expected, also-ran Rudy Giuliani drops out of the race and endorses him.

In remarks to his supporters, Mr. Giuliani repeatedly referred to his campaign in the past tense and added "win or lose our work is not done. ... We'll stay involved and together we'll make sure that we do everything we can to hand our nation off to the next generation better than it was handed to us.

"The responsibility of leadership doesn't end with a single campaign," he said.

Asked about the reports that he would endorse Mr. McCain, Mr. Giuliani said only, "We're heading to California, we're heading to California."

Mr. McCain's victory gives him 57 delegates to the nominating convention in September. He, along with all candidates from both parties, will now turn his attention to next Tuesday, Feb. 5, in which 22 states hold primaries. If Mr. McCain does well in those contests, he could secure his party's nomination.

In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton used her popularity among Hispanic voters to trounce Barack Obama. Incomplete results showed her with a 20-point margin of victory.

Exit polls showed that Mr. McCain did well among seniors, moderate Republicans and those with Cuban ancestry.

"I want to thank my dear friend, Rudy Giuliani, who invested his heart and soul in this primary, and who conducted himself with all the qualities of the exceptional American leader he truly is. Thank you, for all you have added to this race."

His victory is something of a surprise on a couple of counts. First, it showed he can do well in a state that allowed only Republicans to vote. His previous victories, in New Hampshire and South Carolina this year, and in two states in 2000, came in elections open to independents.

Also, he won the state in spite of polls that showed that voters saw the economy as the most important issue, a strong suit of Mr. Romney's, a former venture capitalist. Mr. McCain, who served in Vietnam, emphasized issues of national security.

No delegates will be awarded to Ms. Clinton, because the national Democratic Party is punishing Florida for holding an early primary. But the victory will give her a much-needed boost after losing last weekend's South Carolina primary to Mr. Obama and watching him secure the endorsement of Senator Edward Kennedy.

Still, Mr. Romney was not letting go of what he clearly sees as one of his advantages in the race. "I think it's time for the politicians to leave Washington and for the citizens to take over," Mr. Romney told supporters in St. Petersburg last night.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who had emerged as a national figure after his surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses in early January, trailed Mr. Giuliani. But he said he wasn't discouraged by his poor showing and vowed to stay in the race. "We're playing all nine innings of this ball game," he told supporters in Creve Coeur, Mo.

It's Trailing in Florida for Giuliani in 08

"I think we're cracking through, but we'll see," Giuliani said.

According to pollsters, there's not much leeway in Florida. Compared to the other early contests, Florida has a relatively small number of undecided voters.

"I'm not sure he can make up that kind of ground between now and Tuesday," Adair said.

Giuliani will have a chance to go head-to-head with his rivals in a debate Thursday night, where he's expected to be on the attack in attempt to show he's still viable.

Two new polls out Thursday show Giuliani competing for third in Florida -- tied with barely-present Mike Huckabee and behind John McCain and Mitt Romney.

Giuliani, who has finished in the single digits in every contest so far, largely skipped the early voting states to focus on Florida and the Super Tuesday states voting on February 5.

The former New York mayor once led in Florida and most national polls, but his plummeting numbers are causing some to question his strategy.

"Rudy has fallen like the Dow Jones industrial average," said Bill Adair, chief editor of the St. Petersburg Times. "What's happened is he gambled on Florida and put all his chips on Florida, and it's beginning to look like he gambled wrong."

"What he miscalculated on is McCain and Romney and Huckabee all come with some momentum into Florida because they won other states, and Rudy doesn't have momentum," he said.

So far, McCain has won New Hampshire and South Carolina; Romney took Wyoming, Nevada and Michigan; and Huckabee came in first in Iowa.

Giuliani has revamped his message for Floridians. Early in his campaign, he portrayed himself as America's mayor, calling attention to his leadership following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Giuliani's poor finishes have cast doubt on his viability, Adair said on CNN's "American Morning."

"What he miscalculated on is McCain and Romney and Huckabee all come with some momentum into Florida because they won other states, and Rudy doesn't have momentum," he said.

So far, McCain has won New Hampshire and South Carolina; Romney took Wyoming, Nevada and Michigan; and Huckabee came in first in Iowa.

Giuliani has revamped his message for Floridians. Early in his campaign, he portrayed himself as America's mayor, calling attention to his leadership following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

"The very best things we could do is a major stimulus package that would lower taxes, and lower taxes dramatically," Giuliani said in Orlando, Florida, on Monday.

"And that's why I proposed the largest tax reduction in American history."

As concerns about the economy top the worries of Republican voters, Giuliani's launched an ad that touts his fiscal record as mayor, and he's been touting his plans to cut taxes.

Giuliani tells anyone who will listen -- he's the one with "proven leadership." There, his challenge is McCain of Arizona, who in a new Florida ad says, "There's no one more qualified to meet our national security threats. I've been dealing with these issues my entire adult life."

And Romney's hoping he can resonate with Floridians when it comes to the economy.

"I will go to Washington using the experience I have in the private sector -- in the real economy -- to strengthen our economy," the former Massachusetts governor said.

Giuliani on Wednesday told CNN's Larry King that he expects the polls to break his way this weekend.

But a break might not be enough. In a survey conducted for the Miami Herald, the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9, Giuliani only registers 15 percent among Republican primary voters. That puts him in a tie with Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who has spent little time in the state and has only a fraction of the organization Giuliani has there.

McCain and Romney are statistically tied for the top: McCain at 25 percent and Romney at 23 percent.

Giuliani also finds himself in third place in a new American Research Group poll with 16 percent, a statistical tie with Huckabee's 17 percent. McCain leads that poll with 29 percent and Romney is second with 22 percent.

The Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points, while the ARG poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. Both were conducted January 20-22.

Giuliani Off to Florida in 2008

“For us, it’s Florida,” said Mr. Giuliani in an impromptu press conference made difficult to hear because of the whine of various electric drills. “We’ll think about New York, California, Missouri”–he listed a few more states where his poll numbers are listing to starboard–”we’ll think about everything on the morning of Jan. 30.”

“We fully expect it to be awfully competitive,” he said. “So it’s playing out the way we thought it would play out. Now, the important thing is that it’s supposed to play out with us winning Florida.”

As to Florida, where a poll this morning shows him trailing McCain and Romney? Mr. Giuliani long ago declared this state his fortress, declining to compete in earlier primaries.

And, as this campaign has featured the Candidate Giuliani who no longer rips at his opponents’ jugulars for sport, he declined to attack any of his rivals, even those who now have taken the lead in the Florida polls. He gave another of those vaguely disconcerting benign grins. “I am having a great time,” he said. “I hope the other candidates are too.”

Not only have recent polls show him in a tight race with John McCain and Mitt Romney in Florida, but now a poll shows him trailing Mr. McCain in his home state of New York.

Republicans prepare for Florida in 08

Speaking at a news conference at the Bank of America Midtown Plaza, Huckabee said Saturday's results in South Carolina were close. He finished second to U.S. Sen. John McCain, just 3 percentage points behind.

Huckabee was then in Atlanta to attend the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative service and to pick up the endorsement of nearly three dozen black ministers and religious leaders from around the country.

When told that Georgia Republicans have voted the same as South Carolinians in every Republican presidential primary since 1980, Huckabee was undeterred.

"They may have voted that way since 1980, but there have been a lot of firsts this campaign season and there's going to be another one. A big one. We plan on carrying Georgia," he said.

Huckabee said things would have been different Saturday had it not been for the presence of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson on the ballot. Thompson seemed to pull voters away from Huckabee, given both men's appeal to evangelical voters.

"We were this close," Huckabee said. "Some of it, we think, was the Fred Thompson factor. We would have won handily if it weren't for that."

Huckabee took off from the news conference Monday for Florida, where Republicans hold a primary next week. But Huckabee returns to Atlanta Tuesday morning for a pair of receptions and to speak at the Georgia Right to Life memorial service at the Capitol.

Dean Nelson, executive director of the Network of Politically Active Christians, was among those at the news conference endorsing Huckabee.

"Mike Huckabee is the person who encapsulates and carries the values the African-American community holds," Nelson said.

He said he made that decision after Huckabee was the only Republican candidate to show up for a debate sponsored by PBS at historically black Morgan State University.

On the other side of the Republican Party, boosted by strong support from independents and South Carolina's active and retired military voters, Mr. McCain edged out Mr. Huckabee, 33% to 30%.

The results mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for Mr. McCain in the Palmetto State. He was defeated here in 2000 in his unsuccessful presidential bid against George W. Bush -- a campaign marked by negative attacks on the senator's personal life and professional record. "It took us a while, but what's eight years among friends," said a laughing Mr. McCain Saturday night.

On Sunday, Mr. McCain called the GOP contest "still very competitive" but said his South Carolina win gives him momentum heading into the next big battle in Florida. Mr. McCain took a swipe at Rudy Giuliani, who avoided the early primary states to make his first big stand in Florida, which votes Jan. 29. Mr. McCain said he expected to come under heavy criticism from the former New York mayor.

"If someone hasn't run a primary, I can understand why they would attack the front-runner," Mr. McCain told reporters at a news conference.

"I think we're obviously doing very well," Mr. McCain said. Still, he added, "This is still very competitive."

Despite favor from the state's evangelical voting bloc and efforts from outside groups on his behalf, Mr. Huckabee couldn't pull out a win. He heads into Florida in a weakened position, unable to show he can win Republican votes outside of his evangelical base. But Mr. Huckabee struck an optimistic tone in his defeat, noting that he'd rather lose "with honor" than have resorted to negative attacks. "The process is far, far from over," he vowed in his concession speech. "The path to the White House is not ending here tonight."