'Sweet' victory for McCain
Updated on 30 January 2008
John McCain won a "sweet" victory over his main rival Mitt Romney after a close contest in Florida's Republican primary election.
The win will give the former Vietnam prisoner of war a significant boost, both financially and politically, ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when more than 20 states go to the polls.
But he cautioned his supporters that the win in Florida was not a landslide victory and not big enough to "brag" about.
Although after wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina too, he said it was "sweet nonetheless".
"Tonight my friends we celebrate," he told supporters at a victory rally in Miami, Florida.
"But tomorrow it's back to work. We have a ways to go, but we're getting close."
Mr McCain's victory came after weeks of heated battle with the former Massachusetts governor Mr Romney, who came second in the poll.
Mr Romney has accused Mr McCain of being a "liberal" and of having a habit of losing his temper. In return, Mr McCain labelled Mr Romney as a "constant flip-flopper" on key issues.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that Rudy Giuliani will pull out of the race after polling a disappointing third place.
In his victory speech, Mr McCain said: "I want to thank my dear friend, my dear friend Rudy Giuliani... Who invested his heart and soul in this primary and who conducted himself with all the qualities of the exceptional American leader he truly is.
"Thank you Rudy for all you have added in this race, and for being an inspiration to me and millions of Americans."
'You don't always win, but you can always try to do it right.'Rudy Giuliani
'America's mayor' Rudy Giuliani looks set to pull out of the US presidential race and throw his support behind former Vietnam prisoner of war John McCain today.
The Republican candidates head to California for a televised debate tonight and the endorsement is expected to happen before then, several US TV networks reported.
Mr Giuliani has always said he would support Mr McCain if he was not running for the presidency himself.
After his Florida defeat, the former New York mayor adopted a reflective tone, and the past tense, as he spoke to his supporters in Orlando, saying he ran a positive campaign.
"You don't always win, but you can always try to do it right," he said.
It is possible Mr Giuliani may now go on the campaign trail for Mr McCain, several unnamed Republican sources told the major US TV networks.
With 98 per cent of the results in, Mr McCain won 36 per cent of the votes and all 57 of the state's delegates to the party's national convention in the summer.
Mr Romney won 31 per cent, followed by Mr Giuliani with 15 per cent in third and former Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee with 14 per cent in fourth.
In the Democratic primary, with 98 per cent of the results in, Hillary Clinton won with 50 per cent of the votes, followed by Barack Obama with 33 per cent and John Edwards with 14 per cent.
