Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign in the state) for third place, well behind front-runners McCain and Romney. By a January 24, 2008 poll, Giuliani was in third place in Florida with 20% of the vote, compared to 23% for John McCain and 27% for Mitt Romney. Another blow to Giuliani was the late endorsements for McCain of Florida Senator and former Chairman of the Republican National Committee Mel Martinez on January 25 and the highly popular Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, on January 26. Crist had planned to endorse Giuliani in the early autumn, and had still been expected to do so in early January.
Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign step toward a potential 2008 White House bid by forming the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc., allowing him to raise money for national travel and for a presidential campaign. On February 5, 2007, Giuliani officially entered the race for the 2008 U.S. presidential election after filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission. He confirmed his candidacy on the February 14 edition of "Larry King Live", firmly stating: "Yes, I'm running." No Italian American had ever been elected president, and Giuliani's run was the most notable by a member of the ethnic group (the only Italian American