Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani began following the formation of the Draft Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican Party. At the onset of the campaign, Giuliani had held a significant lead in the nationwide polls by January 2007. His runner up in the polls, Senator John McCain, had his candidacy falter, and throughout 2007, Giuliani maintained his lead in both national polls and fundraising. Political observers predicted that Giuliani's
Rudy Giuliani January 30, endorsing McCain. Giuliani's campaign ended up $3.6 million in arrears, and in June 2008 Giuliani sought to retire the debt by proposing to appear at Republican fundraisers during the 2008 general election, and have part of the proceeds go towards his campaign. During the 2008 Republican National Convention, Giuliani gave a prime-time speech that praised McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, while criticizing Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He cited Palin's executive experience as a mayor and governor and belittled Obama's lack of same, and his remarks were met with wild applause from the delegates. Giuliani continued to