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 identified him as a conservative and 15% as a liberal. Early polls showed Giuliani with one of the highest levels of name recognition and support, and he was considered a front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination. Throughout 2006, rumors circulated regarding a possible Giuliani presidential campaign, abetted by hints from the former mayor himself. Over the Independence Day holiday weekend in July 2006, Giuliani declared that he would run for president in 2008 if he could raise sufficient funds. On November 13, 2006, Giuliani announced during a leadership conference in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania that he had taken the first