11 hours from now, the polls in the Florida panhandle, which is in the Central Time Zone, will close and so will Rudy Giuliani's campaign for president. The only thing open to debate is whether he will drop out tonight after losing by double digits to both John McCain and Mitt Romney, tomorrow morning or if he will put himself through the humiliation of losing to McCain all over the country, including his home state of New York, on February 5th. Rudy himself has been dropping hints in the past few days that tonight is the night that he packs it in.
Rudy Giuliani, with his political life hanging in the balance here, hinted broadly Monday that he could end his presidential bid as soon as Wednesday.
Asked by reporters on his campaign jet to reflect on the uphill road ahead if he loses Tuesday's Florida Republican primary, Giuliani said, "When it's Wednesday morning, we will make a decision. The reality is that voting hasn't even started yet. I believe we are going to win."
But the former mayor also made clear the primary would mark a critical crossroads for his flagging campaign here, which has seen his poll numbers sink from first place to a distant third.
...
Giuliani, while sounding upbeat, declined to offer a simple yes when asked if he would be attending a major GOP debate tomorrow in California.
"We fully intend to participate in the debate," he said as aides hustled him away.
Take this to the bank. Rudy Giuliani will not be on stage at that debate. He's going to get crushed tonight in Florida. His campaign has been burning through cash like crazy down there only to see his numbers continue to slide. Donors are either maxed out or no longer interested.
It's over.
UPDATE: Rudy Flack asserts "We're going to California"
"We are going to California," Carbonetti told me a few minutes ago at Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida where Rudy shook hands with voters and ate cereal.
Uh-huh.
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