Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign in the Iowa Caucus. Some political observers have opined that the Straw Poll results are bought by campaigns. Giuliani had emerged as the frontrunner after overtaking John McCain in the polls. With the exposure and eventual entrance of Fred Thompson into the field, Giuliani's poll numbers began to drop. But he held on to his status as frontrunner. According to the CBS News Poll taken June 26–28, Giuliani held the lead over Thompson 34% to 21%. In the second quarter, Giuliani revealed that he raised $17 million, first among Republicans and third overall behind Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. On
Political positions of Rudy Giuliani In 1994, he endorsed Democratic incumbent Governor Mario Cuomo over Republican challenger George Pataki due to Pataki's proposals to cut the commuter tax. Giuliani also objected to Pataki's plan to cut income taxes by 25%. The commuter tax was a 0.45% tax paid by those who lived outside NYC but who commuted to jobs within it. Giuliani was strictly against cutting this tax, calling it "relatively modest and completely justified." Giuliani has not signed a pledge by Americans for Tax Reform (signed by every Republican presidential nominee since 1988) to not raise taxes while in office. In 1996, Giuliani criticized