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.
Public image of Rudy Giuliani as the Republican National Coalition for Life, strongly opposed Giuliani's positions and campaigns. Some Catholic archbishops came forward arguing that his views on abortion were not consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Joseph Cella, president of a Catholic advocacy group in Michigan stated, "It’s becoming ever more clear that Rudy Giuliani suffers from John Kerry syndrome. It’s just a matter of time before more bishops step up, because he shares the identical position on abortion as John Kerry and Hillary Clinton." Giuliani declined to discuss his religion when asked if he considered himself a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic."