He hasn't? Which history book are you reading?
GIULIANI'S PRIMARY GOAL: FLORIDA; [EXCERPT]
St. Petersburg Times. May 22, 2007. pg. 1.AThe state, and its new early vote, will be central to his campaign strategy.
Get ready to see a lot of Rudy Giuliani in Florida.
As Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday signed a bill making Florida one of the earliest presidential primary states, Giuliani was already gearing up to take full advantage. The former New York City mayor for weeks has been beefing up his Florida campaign team, having decided to make the Sunshine State a pivotal part of his strategy for winning the Republican presidential nomination.
In a compressed nominating schedule where some 20 states, including giants like New York and California, will vote on Feb. 5, the idea is that earlier elections in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina may not be quite so all-important. Momentum from Florida's Jan. 29 primary could slingshot a candidate to success a week later when most of the delegates are awarded.
"It's the No. 1 target," Attorney General Bill McCollum, chairman of Giuliani's Florida campaign, said of the Sunshine State.
"He needs to win Florida to have the momentum going into Super Tuesday on the fifth. The other candidates probably feel the same way, but I believe he will put more emphasis on Florida than they will," McCollum said. "He sees the big states, Texas, California, New York and Florida, as the key to the campaign."
Which explains the recent flurry of hiring and interviewing of political operatives by the Giuliani campaign in Florida. In addition to field organizers in central and northeast Florida, he hired former McCollum strategist Paul Seago as his executive director for Florida and Orlando-area operative Kathryn Staczek as his state director of field operations. More staffers are expected to be named soon.
Giuliani campaign manager Mike DuHaime said any campaign could win the nomination if it fails to win the other early elections in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
"We're going to play very hard in all the early states, but Florida is no doubt the place where we're strongest," DuHaime said. "It's the biggest state that is now pre-Feb. 5 so it makes it tremendously important."
N-i-c-e catch.
Thanks for a great contribution to the thread.
Your research-—as always-—is impeccable.
But that was kind of obvious, wasn't it.