Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign the Florida primary, Giuliani's campaign indicated he would withdraw from the race. On January 29, 2008, Giuliani exited the race and endorsed the eventual Republican nominee John McCain. Giuliani's public profile started to rise when he was appointed as the United States Associate Attorney General by President Ronald Reagan. He held the position from 1981 to 1983, when he was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He held this post until 1989, when he resigned to run his first campaign for Mayor of New York City. He lost the race but won four years later,
Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign flu-like symptoms during a campaign flight and was admitted overnight to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri as a precaution. Giuliani resumed limited campaigning in subsequent days; the campaign would not give precise details of tests done; Giuliani then stated it had been a "terrible headache", not flu, and a full medical report would be given after Christmas; but the health question had become an ongoing campaign story. Giuliani did indeed get a clean bill of health from his doctor on the day after Christmas, but again a minor amount of political damage had been done. Giuliani's voter appeal continued