Jan. 30, 2008
McCain Wins Fla., Giuliani To Drop Out
Ariz. Senator Gets Key Win; CBS News Confirms Giuliani Will Back McCain; Edwards To Drop Out
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Play CBS Video Video McCain Revels In Florida Win "CBS News RAW": Arizona Senator John McCain thanked a crowd of supporters in Miami, relishing his hard-fought victory over Mitt Romney in Florida's Republican primary.
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Video Giuliani On Fla. Loss "CBS News RAW": Addressing supporters in Orlando, Rudy Giuliani conceded defeat in Florida's high-stakes Republican primary.
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Video John Edwards Drops Out CBS News has learned that Democrat John Edwards will leave the presidential primary race. Ramy Inocencio reports.
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Republican presidential hopeful, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, talks to supporters after conceding the Florida Republican primary at his election watch headquarters in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. (AP)
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Republican presidential hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, leads his wife Ann Romney into a primary day campaign rally in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. (AP)
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Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., celebrates with his wife Cindy, his primary victory in Miami, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. (AP)
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Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., center, speaks to reporters as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, right, and his wife Cindy McCain look on during a visit to a polling station in St. Petersburg, Fla., the morning of Florida's Republican presidential primary election, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008. (AP)
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Voters sign in to cast their ballots in the Florida primary, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP)
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Photo Essay Sunshine State Votes Republicans prominent in Florida while party dispute keeps Democrats on sidelines.
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News Tools Campaign Calendar The latest list of primary and caucus dates as states continue jockeying for position.
After a disappointing finish behind the leaders, CBS News confirms that former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop out of the race Wednesday in Los Angeles and will endorse McCain at a joint apperance at 6 p.m. ET. (Read more on what happened to Giuliani's campaign)
Democrat John Edwards also exited the race Wednesday with an announcement in New Orleans.
With all precincts reporting, McCain got 36 percent and Romney got 31 percent of the vote. Giuliani got 15 percent in the state he staked his campaign on and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee got 14 percent. Texas Rep. Ron Paul was far behind with three percent.
Complete Florida Returns
For Republicans the contest offers the state's 57 delegates to this summer's Republican national convention and a big burst of energy in the weeklong sprint to Super Tuesday. A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the Republican nomination.
"It shows one thing. I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party," McCain said after the win in the hard-fought contest. (Watch McCain video)
"It's a very significant boost, but I think we've got a tough week ahead and a lot of states to come," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
According to CBS News exit polls, McCain's Florida coalition was made up of voters he has counted on many times before - party mavericks. He received substantial support from groups like independents, seculars, pro-choice voters, and those Republicans dissatisfied with the Bush administration. Voters' economic concerns also helped propel him to a win. (Read more analysis on why McCain won)
"It may not have been a landslide for Senator McCain," said CBSNews.com senior political editor Vaughn Ververs, "but it was a big win that thrusts him into the driver's seat in this race. McCain becomes the first candidate in either party to win back-to-back victories in big, contested contests. That he finally won one in a Republican-only primary is sweet icing on the cake for a candidate with vocal critics in his own party."
Giuliani ran third, 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.
In remarks to supporters in Orlando, the former New York mayor 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. (Watch Giuliani video)
Later, CBS News confirmed he is expected to drop out of the race Wednesday.
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," he told supporters in St. Petersburg. (Watch Romney video)
Romney ran 4,475 television commercials in Florida through the last week to McCain's 470, reports CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer.
Appearing on CBS' The Early Show the morning after his second-place finish, Romney said he thought Giuliani's expected endorsement of McCain could end up benefiting him more than the Arizona senator.
"I respect the fact that the mayor wants to endorse somebody who he long ago said he favored," Romney said. "But I think Rudy Giuliani voters are going to want somebody who's run something and has shown a level of competence in doing so. And I think you're going to see that some of those votes will go to McCain but some will stay with me. And I think it's hard for a candidate to actually direct voters as to where they go next. I think they make their own mind up."
Florida marked the end of one phase of the campaign, the last in a series of single-state contests.
The campaign goes national next week, with 21 states holding primaries and caucuses on Tuesday and 1,023 party convention delegates at stake.
"A friendly landscape in the upcoming Super Tuesday states must have the McCain campaign smiling tonight," CBSNews.com's Ververs added. "But Mitt Romney's deep pockets and formidable campaign machine can't be discounted. This is still a two-person contest, with 'contest' being the operative word." (Read more analysis on the race)
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Video
Complete Florida Returns
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





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See all 654 CommentsIn 1990, Romney was CEO of Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.
Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. Before he was called in, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Romney revamped the organization''s leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fund-raising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget. Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million, not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources. Romney contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and donated the $825,000 salary he earned as President and CEO to charity.
Romney graduated from a joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He graduated *** laude from the law school and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class.
Romney knows how to help our economy!
Yawn........is it next year yet - time for a Democratic President.
ByeBye, Rudy - Couldn''t happen to a nastier S O B...
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
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Posted by FloydZepp at 06:59 PM : Jan 30, 2008
FloydFencePostZepp,,,,,Keep laughing. In january you"ll be crying when the experience beat the questions planting Demoncrats candidate.
Posted by FloydZepp at 06:52 PM
FloydFencePost,,,,A man who survived torture in Vietnam can survive the torture of Hillarys voice.
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Posted by FloydZepp at 06:52 PM : Jan 30, 2008
FloydFencePostZepp,,,,,I told you, debating with you is like debating with a fence post. No matter who becomes the next President he/she/it will keep Iraq as an important ally in the Middle East. Accept that.
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Posted by j-whitman at 06:47 PM : Jan 30, 2008
j-whitmanTroopBasher,,,,Iraq is a key ally in the heart of middle east and is now a successful model of democracy in the Middle East.
--- Problem is he''s way to old, too much like the old school politicians we need to get away from, didn''t have the courage to fight for more troops & will probably crash & burn behind enemy lines as he did before.
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Posted by FloydZepp at 06:47 PM : Jan 30, 2008
j-whitmanTroopBasher,,,,,Unlike the Demoncrats hopeful McCain did not wished our troops to die in order to win the Presidency.
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Posted by j-whitman at 06:44 PM : Jan 30, 2008
j-whitmanWifeDumper,,,,,,Just until McCain starts to say Liberals wished our troops to die so they could have a chance to win the White House.
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Posted by j-whitman at 06:41 PM : Jan 30, 2008
Why? Just because you wish? Keep dreaming.
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