So now Rudy Giuliani is a factor. His plan until this point was to solidify his formidable support in the February 5th states by campaigning there while all of his competitors fought over Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and the rest of the early states.
That plan has most definitely not worked, thanks in large part, to John McCain. Giuliani is currently behind in the polls in, of all places, New York.
The Siena College poll [showed]… Giuliani trailed McCain by 12 percentage points, a sharp reversal from the former New York City mayor’s 33-point lead over the Arizona senator in December. McCain had the support of 36 percent of New York Republicans, while Giuliani had 24 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 10 percent.
Siena’s Steven Greenberg called the latest numbers “a stunning turnaround.”
That’s a 45-point reversal! That’s an awfully long way to fall. Things aren’t any better in the rest of the tri-state area, supposedly the core of Rudy’s support. He’s down in Connecticut and in New Jersey. He’s now losing in Pennsylvania. His Florida lead is dwindling, and he is no longer the national frontrunner.
When questioned in early November about how Giuliani’s leads in all of these states might be affected by the momentum Giuliani’s competitors would gain by winning early states, the Giuliani campaign said that his leads were “momentum-proof.” Whoops.
