Rudy Giuliani has staked his campaign on a strong showing in Florida Republican primary on Tuesday after largely ignoring other states that handed victories to John McCain and Mitt Romney earlier this month.
Giuliani, a former New York mayor, predicted victory despite polls that show him struggling for third place.
A media poll released early on Tuesday showed McCain with a slim 35 percent to 31 percent lead over Romney. Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee were tied for third place with 13 percent each in the poll, which had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
Giuliani won wide admiration as "America's mayor" for his calm during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but his campaign, focused on keeping the United States safe from terrorism, has faltered in recent weeks.
About one million absentee and early-voting ballots have already been cast, a factor that could help Giuliani given his intense campaigning in the state while rivals were elsewhere.
The winner in Florida will gain valuable momentum heading into the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" voting, when 21 states from Georgia to Alaska will hold Republican nominating contests. At a delicatessen in a Miami suburb on Tuesday morning, Giuliani talked optimistically about moving on to other states after the Florida contest.
"We are going to win today," he said flatly. "Polls and predictions have been wrong."
Source: Xinhua
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