Rudy Giuliani came out to greet supporters just before 9:30 p.m. at the Portofino Hotel at Universal Orlando. He conceded the race to John McCain, congratulating him on his victory in Florida. Giuliani had, of course, hoped that victory would be his.

Giuliani spent nearly all his time and money campaigning in the Sunshine State. He more than 90 campaign stops in Florida in January alone. It’s a gamble that didn’t pay off.

From the beginning, Giuliani’s Florida strategy was risky. He basically ignored all of the early primary states. But his poll numbers continued to drop. Going into Tuesday’s primary, polls put Giuliani in a distant 3rd. And that’s just where he ended up.

He made an upbeat speech here in Orlando, telling the crowd he loves competition. But his speech also sounded a little like the end of a campaign. Giuliani has hinted that if he didn’t win the Florida Republican primary, he may bow out of the race as early as Wednesday. There are also reports going around that Giuliani now plans on throwing his support behind John McCain.

Either way, without a good showing here in Florida… it would be tough for Giuliani to come up with the money and support he’d need to compete with John McCain and Mitt Romney going into Super Tuesday, February 5th.

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