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While Rudy Giuliani is focusing all of his energies on Florida’s GOP primary, his rival Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is campaigning in the former New York City mayor’s backyard. McCain’s campaign, riding a win in the South Carolina primary Saturday, announced that the senator would hold a press conference in New York City on Tuesday. Two recent polls have shown that McCain has overtaken Giuliani in the Empire State, where voters will go to the polls on Feb. 5.
The former mayor is trying to create momentum for his campaign by winning in Florida, after having posted dismal results in the early nominating contests. However, the new polls show that Giuliani is losing support in his home state and that could spell trouble for him.
According to a Siena College Research Institute poll, McCain leads in the state by 12 points. An MSNBC/Marist poll shows the senator winning by 15 points. However, small sample sizes also create a larger margin of error.
“In a stunning turnaround, John McCain has turned a 33-point deficit with Republican voters in December into a 12-point lead over Rudy Giuliani today,” said Steven Greenberg, the spokesman for the Siena New York Poll, on Monday. “While America’s mayor still has strong support among New York City Republicans, he is getting beat by McCain in the suburbs and trounced upstate. Republican women give Rudy a small edge; however, Republican men are behind McCain nearly 3-to-1.”
Among Democrats, both polls still show the state’s junior senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), with a commanding lead over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
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