Giuliani’s Lead Shrinks in Florida, Poll Shows

Michael Cooper
The New York Times Politics Blog
January 14, 2008,

NAPLES, Fla. — The campaign’s signs say “Florida is Rudy Country.’’ But despite Rudolph W. Giuliani’s heavy advertising effort here, and the fact that he has the state almost to himself while his rivals duke it out in colder climes, a poll released Monday shows that his lead in Florida has slipped, and the state is now very much up for grabs.

The poll, by Quinnipiac University, showed Senator John McCain, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee all within the margin of sampling error. And it found that even though Mr. Giuliani now has the airwaves here to himself, Mr. McCain has gained nine percentage points since the last Qunnipiac survey was taken, between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18, while Mr. Giuliani lost eight percentage points.

The poll, which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, showed Mr. McCain with the support of 22 percent of likely primary voters, Mr. Giuliani at 20 percent, and Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Romney with 19. The survey polled 419 likely Republican primary voters from Jan. 9 through Jan. 13. ... ( read more )


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