Defeated Giuiliani endorses McCain for President

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • January 31, 2008 - 8:10

Failure in Florida left Giuliani with little hope of finding any success in the vital “Super Tuesday“ races next week.

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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuiliani ended his campaign for the Republican 2008 Presidential nomination yesterday after losing by a significant margin to rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney in the Florida primary.

Giuliani endorsed McCain in a speech from California yesterday afternoon.

Once considered a strong frontrunner for the Republican Presidential nomination, Giuiliani has trailed largely behind candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney in national polls recently.

He has also failed to pull in much support in any of the Republican caucuses or primaries so far.

Giuiliani, who placed third in the Florida Republican primary on Tuesday, reportedly called supporters on Wednesday morning to inform them he would be leaving the Presidential race.

In comments to the press during a flight to California, Giuliani said he would is "not seeking a position in government" and plans to be "a very enthusiastic and active supporter" of former rival John McCain, according to FoxNews.com.

In a press conference this afternoon announcing his formal withdrawal from the race, Giuliani called McCain "someone who can be trusted in times of crisis. He is an American hero.

"This is a man prepared to be President of the United States in a time of great peril."

McCain, accepting Giuliani's endorsement, said:

"There will be a clear choice this November and I believe my life has prepared me… to lead this nation."

Although Giuliani stated he admired both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, he said he is "convinced that John McCain is the best choice for President of the United States."

According to FoxNews.com, Giuliani admitted his strategy to focus his Presidential campaign in Florida, virtually ignoring previous primaries and caucuses, "didn't work."

But, he added, "it was the only realistic strategy available to us."

Giuliani, working with limited resources, decided to throw most of his time and funds into the Florida primary, in hopes of pulling out a dramatic win.

If successful, the strategy could have given him a significant edge over his opponents going into the February 5 primaries and caucuses.

However, failure in Florida left Giuliani with little hope of finding any success in the vital "Super Tuesday" races next week.

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