Just received this quick report from a contact in the Giuliani campaign….
Just got off a call with one of our political directors in Florida. New internals just came in from the three south FL counties and Rudy’s support numbers are through the roof. Also absentee ballots being returned are the most ever in those three counties and same with early voting.
Hispanics are breaking huge for Rudy along with the high rise apartment buildings in West Palm Beach loaded with New Yorkers — mostly Jewish voters who have registered permanently in FL to vote for Rudy. All the areas where Rudy has been strong are voting in high numbers in early voting and absentee.
Rudy will be outspent by Romney on the airwaves in FL but he has no ground forces to speak of. McCain has no money and no ground forces. Huckabee doesn’t seem to be a factor as the large evangelical churches of south FL have been going after him for lack of experience.
The South Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are solidly for Rudy and the Mayor of Miami has pledged to do what he can to turn out even more votes for Rudy.
In Jacksonville, they just signed on a retired Major General from Palm Coast who was a JAG officer for Schwarzkopf who is working the Jacksonville area with a retired Admiral now — going after McCain and some of his votes against the military on Armed Services. They will move over to Tampa area later this week and then to the military bases along the Gulf just talking to people in the clubhouses, etc., to spread the word.
Gloves are off against McCain and Romney, and Hispanic evangelicals are going after Huckabee.
The phone banks in south FL have more volunteers then they expected and same for other parts of FL. New polling over the weekend shows room for growth of more Rudy supporters in FL unlike the ceiling they reached in Iowa and SC.
Great call — largest GOTV ever in FL is going on for Rudy!
January 21st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
sounds good, but i heard the same type of optimism from Fred’s folks in SC and Ron Paul’s army in NH. We’ll know soon!
January 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
“Stormin’ Norman” is “Schwarzkopf.”
January 21st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I sure hope so, that only takes votes away from McCain IMO. Go Rudy!!
January 21st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Damon Heart Rudy
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2008/01/damon-heart-rudyand-mitts-not.html
January 21st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
BEWARE…..
the RETURN……
He is coming for ……You……Rudy
January 21st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Greg, thanks for the update!
Someone with the campaign just told me that 280,000 absentee ballots are out already.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
It’s going to be a tough fight in Florida for everyone. Rudy is going to go all out there.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:27 pm
McCain and Romney have no ground game in Florida?
Sounds like pure campaign spin to me. Rudy ought to be spending his time lowering expectations so he can pull out before next Tuesday.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Swartzkoff?
Any relation to Schwarzkopf, by chance?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
My theory/hope is that Rudy’s been intentionally holding back for the last week, and we are about to see THIS Rudy:
http://www.patrickruffini.com/2008/01/12/missing-persons-report/
January 21st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I meant, holding back UNTIL the last week before FL voting.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Jawbreaker author Gary Berntsen endorses Rudy Giuliani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKE8-IqFfQ&eurl=http://www.joinrudy2008.com/blog/index/776
January 21st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Jawbreaker author Gary Berntsen endorses Rudy Giuliani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKE8-IqFfQ&eurl=http://www.joinrudy2008.com/blog/index/776
January 21st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Wait….
FINALLY…….
The SHOCK & AWE……
We have all been promised…..
January 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I live just above supposed Rudy country and I dont think all the absentee and early voters are going for him as people have been following the early states mostly. There certainly is no large buzz for him here just above West Palm Beach, FL.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Rudy’s SHOCK & AWE…..
Brace for it…..Folks….
It will be AWESOME!!!!
Forget the RETURN of the ROMNEY…..
January 21st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
(Oh….add Sarcasm)
January 21st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
at last we’ll finally know if rudy is a serious contender or a paper tiger. If he even gets second place, we’ll know that the shock and awe rudy was never there. i think it all started bad for him when he pulled out of the iowa straw poll.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Shock and awe, or just shockingly awful?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
#18, WOW, first he bans Muslims from the cabinet, now, when in a group of blacks, asks who let the dogs out?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
LOOK OUT! RUDY SHOWS POLLS “THROUGH THE ROOF”!!! He’s going to break the 5TH PLACE BARRIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
January 21st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
18 –
Oh…
my…
God…
That was…so mortifying…
January 21st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Yeah, what’s considered “through the roof” in these polls? 20%?
Is it possible that “through the roof” meant continuing the death plunge from what used to be “sky high”, and now in the direction of “rock bottom”?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Giuliani Attacks McCain: “McCain Not A Fiscal conservative. http://tinyurl.com/yvjlxb
January 21st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Jim Brown #23, WOW!
Looks like Rudy just saw the big bullseye on McCain’s back! J-Mac voted to raise taxes 52 times? Wonder how much air time that’s gonna get for the next week…
January 21st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
when is the bernie kerik trial? will it affect florida, anyone know?
January 21st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
10.
I’ve been looking for those convention videos online; they’ve been hard to find. Rudy’s fired up, as many have observed. I hope we’ll see more of NYC Rudy and less of Iowa Rudy. This is a start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kekSUZQ2CZU
January 21st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Go Rudy!!!
Here’s where I part ways with the Rudy fans who like McCain 2nd.
McCain has been a TRAITOR to economic conservatism again and again.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
#18 LOL
January 21st, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Hey MarkG, do you have any videos of Mitt rapping? He could possibly win my vote with 5 seconds of that…
January 21st, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Can we get Team Rudy’s assault on McCain’s tax hiking record up on the front page?
This is big news! There’s stuff in there I’ve never even HEARD of before! Looks like Rudy’s taking off the gloves!
January 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Romney agrees with Rudy…on how awful McCain’s tax record is.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Thanks for the update. I think the pollsters are not modeling the Rudy strength correctly in FL. Rudy lost 8 points to JMac this month. Hopefully he can get back most of those in the final week. It is also important to maintain the morale high in view of the polls coming from NY.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
What does GOTV stand for?
January 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Joe, Get Out The Vote
January 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm
oops, get out the vote, nevermind…brunette moment here.
January 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
[...] Gary Berntsen on why he is endorsing Rudy Giuliani for President Greg A over at Race42008 has the lastest poop on the Giuliani campaign in [...]
January 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Greg, “Gloves are off against McCain and Romney”? I can see Rudy taking his gloves off against McCain, but against Romney? Taking the gloves off implies that Rudy once has said some good things about Mitt. When has Rudy done that? His gloves were never on against Romney in the first place.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Thanks for the report! Viva Rudy
January 21st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
There’s no way that McCain has only voted to raise taxes 52 times!! It seems like it’s been way more than that. SOMEbody is trying to cover up his past. Maybe he’s shown real restraint in curbing his socialist proclivities and saved up his votes for tax increases for really big increases so the total wouldn’t seem so high.
January 21st, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Go Greg!
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Go Rudy!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Rudy’s going down. He was a lousy Mayor and would be worse than Bush as President. Read http://forgetgiuliani.org/ to see what I mean.