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 had again left his cell phone on and received another call from his wife. In September, reports surfaced of a coordinated grassroots campaign "$9.11 for Rudy", which attempted to solicit $9.11 in the form of donations. One of their supporters, Abraham Sofaer, attempted to hold a fundraiser for Giuliani during the "National House Party Night", and drew criticism. Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd called the theme "unconscionable, shameless and sickening." However, Giuliani's campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella stated, "These are two volunteers who acted independently of and without the knowledge of the campaign, their decision to ask individuals for that amount