Giuliani Trails in NY, Huckabee's Running Out of Money and Thompson Drops Out

Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend at 12:32 PM on January 22, 2008.

How's that all-Florida-all-the-time stealth strategy working out for you Rudy? At this rate we're going to be talking about the serial adulterer as a fringe candidate. (AFP):

Giuliani, who in campaigning has played up his record steering the city in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, is trailing 12 percent behind Senator John McCain, a Vietnam war veteran, said the Siena Research Institute.

On Giuliani's home turf, McCain has turned round a previous 33-point deficit,, surging to a 12-point lead in support for New York state's Republican primary on February 5, said the survey, which has a 7.4 point margin of error.

McCain has 36 percent support among Republicans state-wide to 24 for Giuliani. Giuliani led McCain 48 to 15 percent on December 10. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is now third on 10 percent, Siena said.

What a confidence builder that is for the former mayor. Maybe his ace endorsement from Pat Robertson may help him out later with a holy surge for the nomination. And it gets worse -- the NYT has dropped Rudy from its primary election guide* (h/t Raw Story). Here's a screenshot of the delegate count.




With these scathing stories about his reign of terror as mayor in the NYT, In Matters Big and Small, Crossing Giuliani Had Price, you have to wonder if he'll ever emerge from the cellar-dwelling status in the polls.

Mr. Giuliani was a pugilist in a city of political brawlers. But far more than his predecessors, historians and politicians say, his toughness edged toward ruthlessnessand became a defining aspect of his mayoralty. One result: New York City spent at least $7 million in settling civil rights lawsuits and paying retaliatory damages during the Giuliani years.

***

Meanwhile, Huck is low on the cash flow.

Battling to stay competitive after his weekend loss in South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is taking new steps to save money, including no longer scheduling planes and buses for journalists trying to cover his presidential campaign.

Huckabee said he will continue to campaign in Florida on a shoestring budget, but added that he may pull out of the state before its Jan. 29 Republican primary if his prospects look dim.

..Huckabee denied that his second-place finish in South Carolina on Saturday significantly robbed his campaign of momentum, although many Republican strategists disagree.

"I haven't necessarily detected that people are bailing on us at all," he said.

*Rudy has since been added back to the NY Times election guide

UPDATE:

Frederick of Hollywood will need to get Dick Wolf on speed dial to see if he can find work on L&O. His job there has already been taken over by Sam Waterston. Watch for him to endorse McCain. (AP):

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.

“Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort,” Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson’s fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.

Tagged as: mccain, giuliani, huckabee, thompson. republican part

Pam Spaulding blogs at Pam's House Blend.