Jan
31
Giuliani and Edwards drop out of US Presidential race
January 31, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
The withdrawal on Wednesday of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani from the race for the Republican nomination, and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards from the Democratic party contest has now reduced the battle in both parties to a two way contest between the four front runners- Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats, and John McCain and Mitt Romney for the Republicans.
Giuliani, who came to national prominence as Mayor of New York during the 9/11 attacks, had at one time last year been a frontrunner in national opinion polls, but his campaign ground to a halt after a poor third place showing in the Florida primary earlier this week. Giuliani, unlike the other contestants for the Republican party tickets, had not campaigned seriously in any of the earlier states in which primaries had been held, and had concentrated his efforts on a big win in Florida but had finished a disappointing third. Giuliani, who campaigned on a strong national security platform, later went to endorse John McCain, who now seems the front runner for the Republican nomination. Mc Cain’s main challenger is former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney.
For the Democratic party, John Edwards ended his run for the nomination after a disappointing third place performance behind Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in South Carolina, the state where he was born, and where he was hoping for a strong showing that would keep his candidacy alive. Edwards, who ran on a populist, pro-working class agenda, had lost four primaries in other states, and announced his withdrawal from the same neghbourhood in New Orleans that he had announced his candidacy last year.
The contest is now focused on “Super Tuesday”, February 5, where 24 states, including the populous states of New York, California and New Jersey go to the polls.
