WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain, in a tight race, has won the all-or-nothing Republican primary in Florida.
Over the past few weeks, since his victories in both South Carolina and in New Hampshire, McCain has begun to emerge as something of a steamroller. Depending on how he fares on February 5, in what is as close to a national primary as possible, he could likely secure the nomination in a few weeks.
McCain won all 57 of Florida’s delegates after winning 35 percent of the vote. In Florida, McCain received the endorsements of wildly popular Republican Governor Charlie Crist, and Republican Senator Mel Martinez.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney came in second place with 31% of the vote. Romney, despite his second place finishes (with wins in Michigan, Nevada and Wyoming), has enough money to ensure that this campaign carries on and will not likely concede the nomination anytime before the last primary in June.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani finished a disappointing third after throwing all of his resources of the past month into the Florida primary.
Sources say Giuliani will drop out of the race tomorrow at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and endorse McCain. Despite tensions among the other candidates, the two have always been respectful of one another.
Only Senator Hillary Clinton campaigned in the delegateless Florida primary. She claimed victory at a rally on Tuesday night. The Democratic party stripped Florida of its delegates for holding an early primary.
The nation now turns to February 5, where over 20 states will hold their primaries.
Stick with Blast and our Politics with a Touch of Class blog!
Leave a Reply