Giuliani tries to keep his campaign hopes alive.Sarah Elkins
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jan 28, 2008
The past few weeks have not been kind to Rudy Giuliani. After touching down in Florida after the New Hampshire primary, he watched as his once commanding lead in the state disappeared, leaving him two points behind John McCain—a slip Giuliani initially believed he could make up. But despite vigorous campaigning throughout the state—Giuliani has spent 50-plus days crisscrossing Florida—polls here never turned around. Instead, they continued to dip lower and lower. Yesterday a Zogby poll put him in fourth place behind McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Less than 24 hours before the voting booths open, Giuliani finds himself floundering in a state that he still insists is "Rudy Country."
The state's governor apparently doesn't agree. Florida's popular Republican Gov. Charlie Crist endorsed McCain on Saturday. The endorsement clearly caught the Giuliani campaign off guard. In early January invitations went out for Orange County's GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, promising remarks by Giuliani and a "special appearance" by Crist. But on Saturday night only Giuliani showed up. And while Crist did attend a Lincoln Day Dinner, it wasn't Rudy Giuliani's: the governor spent Saturday night in Pinellas County with McCain. Giuliani's communications director, Katie Levinson, says Crist's decision to back McCain won't affect Rudy's standing. "At the end of the day," Levinson says, "people will make a choice based on the candidate. The people of Florida will pick the best of the candidates."... ( more )
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