Edwards and Giuliani quit US elections
Updated on 30 January 2008
For two of them - John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani - the dream of the White House is over.
US Presidential hopeful John Edwards has dropped out of the race. He said it was time "for history to blaze its path" - leaving frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to fight it out for the Democratic nomination.
And the Republicans' contest also narrowed, as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani called it a day after his disastrous showing in Florida.
Neither man has yet said who they'll be endorsing but next week's Super Tuesday, when more than 20 states make their choice, will be critical.
Edwards said: "It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. The Democratic Party will make history."
His rivals lavished praise on his campaign but he's not backing either of them yet.
Obama said: "John has spent his lifetime fighting to give hope."
Hillary will be hoping that she can pick up plenty of the white, working class voters who had been supporting Edwards but it may well be more of a boost to Obama.
Rudy Guiliani said whoever wins Florida will win the nomination and he will now back McCain.
Anyone who says they are voting for change will probably go for Obama and crucially he now becomes the anti-Hillary candidate. So all those Democrats who really dislike her personally and who worry that Hillary would galvanise the right to vote against her will now be lining up for Obama.
Hillary had one small victory last night but the Democrats all agreed not to campaign in Florida because it moved its primary too early and its votes won't count. Coming here to celebrate a meaningless victory now looks more than a little desperate.
Florida really does matter to John McCain. He said: "I intend to win it and be nominee of our party."
He'd been written off as too old, too honest and under funded. Now he's about to be endorsed by the man who had been the frontrunner for months - Guiliani.
Rudy Guiliani said whoever wins Florida will win the nomination and he will now back McCain.
Mitt Romney now has to spend more of his personal fortune trying to persuade voters he does mean what he says and persuade Rudi's fans to support him.
So, we are two steps closer today to knowing which nominees will be
the four significant candidates left.
