SmallGovTimes.comMcCain wins Florida, Edwards and Giuliani drop out By: SGT News | Published on 01/30/08 John McCain, now the GOP delegate leader in the Republican party, won the Florida primaries yesterday evening and squeezed into better position to win the nomination for the Republicans. Edwards, still without a single victory to his name, officially dropped out of the race today and Giuliani is expected to do the same. McCain picked up all 57 delegates in Florida after defeating Mitt Romney by nearly 100,000 votes. Florida's winner-takes-all primary has served as an accurate prediction of a candidate's political success within presidential elections in years past. Giuliani had campaigned heavily in the Sunshine State, banking perhaps his entire political future on this state. The ex-New York City mayor finished a disappointing third place, several hundred thousand votes behind second place Mitt Romney. Huckabee finished fourth, Ron Paul fifth and Fred Thompson sixth. Duncan Hunter rounded out the GOP scorecard with a seventh place finish, picking up 2,787 votes. Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop out of the race and endorse McCain, a move that will further position the moderate Republican to roll through Super Tuesday next week with significant momentum. Questions remain regarding McCain's electability within Conservative circles, a political group that generally views the Arizona senator as fairly liberal. John Edwards to quit presidential bid Long shot candidate John Edwards has officially dropped out of the race but has yet to endorse another candidate. Edwards will make the announcement today at 1 ET in New Orleans. Edwards is known primarily for his “two Americas” concept and a very progressive platform on the role and scope of the federal government. Edwards called for a significant increase in the minimum wage and “free college for everyone”. He supports a complete and immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and stood as a staunch supporter of government-provided universal health care. Original URL: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/08jan30.mccain.florida/index.html |