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Last update - 07:57 30/01/2008 McCain edges out Romney in Fla. primary; Giuliani to quit race By The Associated Press Tags: Rudy Giuliani, John McCain  MIAMI - Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, seizing the upper hand in the Republican presidential race ahead of next week's coast-to-coast contests and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani. "It shows one thing: I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party," McCain told The Associated Press after easing past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his first-ever triumph in a primary open only to Republicans. "We have a ways to go, but we're getting close" to the nomination, he said later in an appearance before cheering supporters. Advertisement Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was the Democratic winner in a primary held in defiance of national rules that drew no campaigning and awarded no delegates. The victory was worth 57 Republican National Convention delegates for McCain, a winner-take-all haul that catapulted him ahead of Romney in that category. Romney, who has spent millions of dollars of his personal fortune to run for the White House, vowed to stay in the race. "At a time like this, America needs a president in the White House who has actually had a job in the real economy," the former businessman told supporters in St. Petersburg. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, ran third. It was his best showing of the campaign, but not nearly good enough for the one-time front-runner who decided to make his last stand in a state that is home to tens of thousands of transplanted New Yorkers. Several officials familiar with events said he intended to endorse McCain on Wednesday in California. In remarks to supporters in Orlando, Giuliani referred to his candidacy repeatedly in the past tense - as though it were over. "We'll stay involved and together we'll make sure that we'll do everything we can to hand our nation off to the next generation better than it was before," he said. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee ran fourth in the primary but told supporters he would campaign on. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was fifth, and last. Florida marked the end of one phase of the campaign, the last in a series of single-state contests that winnowed a once unwieldy field. The race goes national next week - McCain said it would be the closest thing to a nationwide primary as any event in history. Twenty-one states hold Republican primaries and caucuses on Tuesday with 1,023 convention delegates at stake. Returns from 81 percent of Florida's precincts showed McCain, the Arizona senator, with 36 percent of the vote and Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, with 31 percent. In the overall delegate race, it was McCain 93, Romney 59, Huckabee 40. Paul has four and Giuliani one. The victory was another step in one of the most remarkable political comebacks of recent times. McCain entered the race the front-runner, then found his campaign out of funds and unraveling last summer as his stands in favor of the Iraq War and a controversial immigration bill proved unpopular. The war gradually became less of a concern after President Bush's decision to increase troop deployments began to produce results. McCain also sought to readjust his position on immigration. By the time of the New Hampshire primary, he had retooled his candidacy and ridden his Straight Talk Express campaign bus to over 100 town hall meetings. He won in New Hampshire, stumbled in Michigan, but won the South Carolina primary last week, taking first place in the state that had snuffed out his presidential hopes in 2000. McCain's previous triumphs this year, and in two states in 2000, came in elections open to independents as well as Republicans. He campaigned in Florida with the support of the state's two top Republican elected officials, Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. Mel Martinez. Romney's only primary win so far was in Michigan, a state where he grew up and claimed a home-field advantage. He also has caucus victories to his credit in Wyoming and Nevada. A survey of voters as they left their polling places Tuesday showed the economy was the top issue for nearly half. McCain led his rival among those voters, blunting Romney's weeklong effort to persuade Floridians that his background as a businessman made him best-suited for heading off a recession. McCain also benefited from the support of self-described moderates, as well as older voters and Hispanics. Giuliani ran second among Latino voters, according to preliminary exit poll data. Romney was favored by voters opposed to abortion and to easing the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. About 40 percent of self-described conservatives supported him, as well, compared to about 25 percent for McCain. The poll was conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and the television networks. The Democratic primary was controversial by its very existence, an act of defiance against national party officials who wanted it held later in the year. Even so, Clinton sought to emphasize her performance in the state, holding a victory rally as the polls were closing. She challenged Barack Obama to agree to seat the delegates on the basis of the night's vote, but he demurred, saying he would abide by an agreement all Democratic candidates had made months ago. "Those decisions will be made after the nomination, not before," Obama told reporters Tuesday on a plane from Washington to Kansas. "Obviously, I care a lot about the people in Michigan and a lot about the people in Florida. And I want their votes in the general election. We'll be actively campaigning for them. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Painful lessons The IDF has already learnt lessons of the Second Lebanon War. Brothers in guilt 'We are all guilty; is an effective summary of the final Winograd report.   1.   If "spin" has a first name, it must be Hillary..... 10:27  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/01/08   2.   John McCain, The next President of the United States of America!! 10:54  |  Time to show 30/01/08   3.   The battle of Florida........ 11:35  |  Stephen. 30/01/08   4.   the Future vs the Past...Obama vs McCain 11:40  |  Joe 30/01/08   5.   McCain and endless war. 11:47  |  sandra chitayat 30/01/08   6.   Goodbye Rudy Tuesday 14:17  |  Smolanit 30/01/08   7.   "Giuliani to Quit Race" 14:19  |  CHGODMK 30/01/08   8.   Probably will be Hillary Clinton as the Dem nominee 15:07  |  Petra 30/01/08   9.   Rudy is, has been and will be the best friend of Israel 16:10  |  Jack 30/01/08   10.   Joe #4 is correct. McCain will lose BIG to Obama 00:18  |  GOP Jew 31/01/08

Today Online Ahmadinejad tells West: Accept Israel's 'imminent collapse' Responses: 285 Winograd: Final ground op 'did not achieve military goals' Responses: 97 Amira Hass: Finally, there's a popular uprising in Gaza Responses: 86 UN envoy: Gaza women feel coerced into covering heads Responses: 98 High Court okays cutting fuel and power to Gaza Responses: 106 Rosner's Domain The campaign for Darfur has achieved all its goals - but one Rosner's Guest: Israelis do not know enough about Jewish Diaspora Jewish vote in Florida: 58% for Clinton (WTR) Poll: Is there a "constant virulent campaign" against Obama? Back to divestment from Israel (WTR) More Headlines 22:10 Kadima rallies around Olmert, urges Barak to stay in gov't 22:01 Winograd: Final ground op 'did not achieve military goals', but approving it was essential step 03:22 Protest movement seeks to get to Olmert through Barak 18:59 ANALYSIS: IDF has already learnt lessons of Second Lebanon War 22:59 ANALYSIS: Winograd Committee report says 'we are all guilty' 22:03 German cabinet will visit Israel to mark Jewish state's 60th year 02:42 Giuliani quits Republican presidential race, endorses McCain 19:28 Egyptian police kill two Africans during bid to cross into Israel 02:22 Jerusalem officials praise public's response to snowstorm 17:13 High Court okays reducing fuel and power supply to Gaza Strip 20:50 Hezbollah: War report will corner Olmert, make him lose credibility 20:07 Israel to send thousands of vaccines to Gaza after border breach Previous Editions Select Day 30 jan 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan 25 jan 24 jan 23 jan 22 jan 21 jan 20 jan 18 jan 17 jan

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