McCain's Florida Victory Gives Him Edge for Feb. 5

[Ron Burgundy]

Bloomberg - Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Arizona Senator John McCain last night triumphed in the Florida primary and earned front-runner status in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The victory, coupled with the fizzling of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's campaign, gives McCain a major advantage as he battles with Mitt Romney for the largest chunk of delegates available on Feb. 5, when more than 20 states hold elections. McCain may now be able to claim the winner-take-all contests in Giuliani's home state and neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut, and win or do well in a slew of others.

``It effectively seals the nomination for him,'' said Alex Vogel, a Republican strategist who isn't aligned with a candidate. Polls showing that McCain had the best chance of beating a Democrat in November offered ``powerful currency,'' Vogel said.

Some analysts say the race isn't over yet.

``Can Romney still win the nomination? Sure, but his chances decreased markedly,'' said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute in Hamden, Connecticut.

Romney, this morning in an interview on CNN, said he's now in a two-person race with McCain. ``I think I can stop him,'' Romney said, while conceding ``it's no sure thing at this stage.''

Final Numbers

New York Senator Hillary Clinton, 60, also claimed victory in Florida, winning the Democratic primary. Because the state violated national party rules by moving up its contest, no delegates to the Democratic nominating convention were at stake.

McCain, 71, had 36 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for Romney, 15 percent for Giuliani and 14 percent for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting. McCain has won three contests, matching Romney's total and beating out Huckabee, who has one victory.

About 3.5 million people voted in the two primaries, more than doubling the total in 2000, when both the Republicans and Democrats had contested nominations.

Giuliani, 63, repeatedly pointed to Florida as crucial to his chances, and his defeat may spell the end of his campaign. Once a national front-runner, he placed fourth in a countrywide Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll this month.

Romney, 60, a former Massachusetts governor, rallied his supporters in Florida last night and took a shot at McCain, without mentioning him by name. ``Washington is fundamentally broken, and we're not going to change Washington by sending the same people back just to sit in different chairs,'' he said.

Winner Take All

Huckabee, 52, vowed to fight on. He told supporters in Missouri that he wasn't discouraged by the results in Florida. ``We're just really getting started,'' he said.

Under state party rules, McCain won all of Florida's 57 delegates to the Republican National Convention, bringing his total to 98. Romney has 59 delegates and Huckabee has 26, according to The Green Papers, a nonpartisan Web site that compiles election statistics. A candidate needs 1,191 delegates to become the nominee.

Florida may provide a preview for balloting on Feb. 5, when voters in the New York area and delegate-rich states including California, Illinois and Missouri go to the polls. A candidate winning just New York, New Jersey and Connecticut would walk away with 183 delegates.

``My friends, in one week -- one week -- we will have as close to a national primary as we've ever had in this country,'' McCain told cheering supporters in Florida. ``I intend to win it and be the nominee of our party.''

`Remarkable Comeback'

Florida adds to McCain's victories in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Huckabee won the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses and Romney chalked up wins in Wyoming, Michigan and Nevada.

Terry Holt, a Republican strategist and former campaign spokesman for President George W. Bush, said the victory is a ``remarkable comeback'' for McCain. Just months ago, the candidate had to revamp his campaign and fire staff after spending almost all the money he raised.

``The stars are aligning for McCain,'' Holt said. ``The question is whether it can be sustained.''

Hillary Clinton

Clinton is also looking to capitalize on her victory in Florida. She flew to the state and held a ``thank-you'' event after polls closed, allowing her to stick to a pledge not to campaign in Florida while also drawing attention to her win.

Last week, Clinton said she would ask her delegates from other states to support a move to seat representatives from Florida at the convention.

``I am thrilled to have had this vote of confidence,'' she told supporters in Davie last night. ``I will do everything I can to make sure not only are Florida's Democratic delegates seated, but Florida is in the winning column for the Democrats in 2008.''

Clinton won Florida with 50 percent of the vote, compared with 33 percent for Obama, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting. Among people who made up their minds in the last three days, her margin was much smaller, exit polls found.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in New York at kjensen@bloomberg.net ; Christopher Stern in Washington at cstern3@bloomber.net

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080130/pl_bloomberg/ahhhudrpe6xw [link]