Republicans Prepare for Important Florida Primary
Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in Washington last night for President Bush's final State of the Union address. (Although Obama reportedly gave Clinton the cold shoulder.) But the other member of the Senate running for the presidency Sen. John McCain was in Florida, getting in one more day of campaigning in what is an extremely close race with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Several of the polls taken in the past few days have the race a tie, or with a slight two- or three-point lead for McCain, who seemed to get a small bump over the weekend after an endorsement from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
But the real story of Florida may be the end of Rudy Giuliani's campaign. The former New York mayor had pinned all of his chances on winning this state after ignoring the early caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina. After leading in pools for months, Giuliani is now looking at a third or fourth place finish.
Yesterday he seemed to hint that he knew the end was near. The New York Daily News reports that Giuliani hinted Monday that he could end his presidential bid as early as Wednesday if he loses Florida.
"When it's Wednesday morning, we will make a decision," he said when asked about what he would do if he loses. "The reality is that voting hasn't even started yet. I believe we are going to win."
He also declined to say if he would take part in a debate in California tomorrow.
9:27 AM ET | 01-29-2008 | permalink

