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 2008 presidential campaign to be a major-party national ticket nominee was Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic Party nominee for vice-president; also, Al Smith's grandfather was Italian). Following a series of criticisms from conservatives about his views on abortion, Giuliani made a pledge in February 2007 to nominate Supreme Court Justices in the mold of John Roberts, Sam Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy (all Ronald Reagan appointees, former colleagues of his in the Reagan Justice Department or both). Giuliani and the nine other Republican presidential contenders participated in the first MSNBC 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates Debate on May 3, 2007, held at the