Rudy Giuliani came in a distant third in the Florida Republican presidential primaries and hinted he would drop out of the race.
U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won the state, with Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, finishing a close second.
Giuliani was struggling at 15 percent to maintain his lead over Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who had not seriously contested the state and who was at 13 percent late Tuesday.
Giuliani was the overwhelming favorite among Republican Jewish voters, according to an American Jewish Committee poll in November, winning the approval of 75 percent of Republican Jews. He had also scored a 41 percent overall approval rating among Jews in general, coming in second only to Hillary Clinton.
He had for months led the Republican field in the national polls, but his hopes slipped after a gambit for an early win in New Hampshire dissipated. The former New York mayor then pinned his campaign on Florida, saying the winner there would likely become the candidate.
In a speech conceding Florida to McCain on Tuesday, he did not outright quit the campaign, but suggested that announcement was not far off.
“I don’t back down from a principled fighter but there must always be a larger purpose,” Giuliani said as supporters choked back tears. “Elections are about fighting for a cause larger than ourselves.”
CNN reported Giuliani was in talks with the McCain campaign to endorse the Arizona senator, perhaps as early as Wednesday.
McCain, claiming victory, thanked his rivals but earned the biggest cheers when he mentioned Giuliani, saying the former mayor “conducted himself with all of the qualities of the exceptional American leader he truly is.”
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