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57 pledged delegates to theRepublican National Convention All delegates are awarded to the candidate receiving the most votes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Election results by county. John McCain Mitt Romney Mike Huckabee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2008 Florida Republican presidential primary was held on January 29, 2008, with 57 delegates at stake on awinner-take-all basis.[1][2] TheRepublican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before February 5.[1]
Arizona Senator and eventual nomineeJohn McCain won the primary with 36% of the vote. As apresidential candidate, former New York City mayorRudy Giuliani concentrated heavily on the Florida primary. After coming in third place behind McCain and former Massachusetts GovernorMitt Romney, Giuliani dropped out of the race the following day.[3] McCain's win helped him cement his status as the Republican primary frontrunner.[4]
Rudy Giuliani campaigned quite heavily in Florida, which he expected to use as his "launch pad" for a "strong showing" onSuper Tuesday.[5] He campaigned almost entirely in Florida, and largely ignoredSouth Carolina and other states voting before February 5.
Giuliani had been campaigning with virtually no opposition;[6] however, following theSouth Carolina Republican primary, 2008, several candidates flew down to Florida to begin campaigning up to January 29 when the primary occurred.[7]
Polls taken before the primary showed that John McCain was the slight front runner over Mitt Romney.[8] McCain received pivotal endorsements from Florida GovernorCharlie Crist and Florida SenatorMel Martínez days before the primary.[9]
As of January 29,RealClearPolitics reported that the average support from polls taken in the days immediately prior to primary day placed McCain slightly in the lead with 30.7%, followed by Romney with 30.1%, Giuliani with 14.7%, Huckabee with 12.9%, and Paul with 3.6%.[10] Former SenatorFred Thompson and RepresentativeDuncan Hunter, though already out of the race, still remained on the ballot in the Florida primary.
On January 29, 2008, McCain prevailed in Florida's Republican presidential primary.[11] McCain's victory in the state was credited to his victories inMiami-Dade,Broward andPalm Beach counties, which Giuliani had been expected to perform well in.[12]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Counties | Delegates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John McCain | 701,761 | 36% | 45 | 57 |
| Mitt Romney | 604,932 | 31.03% | 18 | 0 |
| Rudy Giuliani | 286,089 | 14.68% | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee | 262,681 | 13.47% | 4 | 0 |
| Ron Paul | 62,887 | 3.23% | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Thompson* | 22,668 | 1.16% | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Keyes | 4,060 | 0.21% | 0 | 0 |
| Duncan Hunter* | 2,847 | 0.15% | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Tancredo* | 1,573 | 0.08% | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1,949,498 | 100% | 67 | 57 |
* Candidate dropped out of the race prior to primary.
Giuliani had bypassed the other early voting states in the Republican race to concentrate on Florida, but saw his support fade steadily as his rivals commanded the spotlight over the last month.
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