Giuliani praises Huckabee's win in Iowa
Rudy Giuliani Skips Iowa Caucuses, but Praises Rival Mike Huckabee's Win
RASHA MADKOUR
AP News
Jan 03, 2008 23:11 EST
http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/Giuliani_praises_Huckabee_s_win_in__01032008.htmlRepublican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani praised rival Mike Huckabee for his win in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday — a contest Giuliani skipped — yet insisted his own early-state campaign could win over the long haul. "I think we're in good shape. We're ahead in maybe 16, 18 of the 29 states that are coming up," the former New York mayor said. "This was the first one. I think it's one that, quite honestly, we didn't expect that we would win. And we didn't put a lot of resources into it. And now we'll move on to the others."
Giuliani holds an early lead in polls in Florida, which conducts its primary Jan. 29, and he hopes a strong showing here will offset poor results in early-voting states. He said he thinks his early-state strategy will pay off "in that we've paid a lot of attention to states that some other candidates haven't paid much attention to."
"I think our message of being on offense against terrorism, having been tested by crisis, how to handle difficult problems, I think that message will succeed in a number of these primaries," he said. "I congratulate Mike. I think he's got a really good victory there" in Iowa, Giuliani added. He was interviewed on MSNBC and CNN.
Earlier, Giuliani spoke to a rally of mostly Cuban-Americans, asking them for their help, votes and support on Jan. 29, in the tradition of another election that turned on the Sunshine State. "I know how good you are at that because I've seen you pull us through," Giuliani said. "Remember, it's Florida that saved this country for the Republican Party in 2000."