McCain wins Florida primary
2008-01-30 07:21
Miami - Senator John McCain finally emerged as a genuine Republican front-runner on Tuesday, confounding political obituaries penned last year, when his White House quest was flat broke and facing extinction.
The 71-year-old Vietnam war veteran and Arizona senator won the Florida Republican primary, his third triumph in a 2008 nominating showdown, sending momentum surging through his campaign before 22-state "Super Tuesday" next week.
"My friends, in one week we will have as close to a national primary as we have ever had in this country," McCain told delirious supporters at his victory party here.
"I intend to win it, and be the nominee of our party. And I intend to do that by making it clear what I stand for."
Significantly, McCain, who has used independent voters attracted by his maverick stands in his greatest political triumphs, won a primary only open to Republican voters, debunking the knock that he could not solidify his party's base.
He is now set to thrash out a two-man Republican contest, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, after another key rival Rudolph Giuliani signalled he would quit the race, and endorse McCain on Wednesday.
McCain was also cheered by the decision of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to stay in the race, as he was likely to siphon conservative voters away from Romney.
Comeback
Once the Republican heir apparent, McCain's campaign plunged close to extinction last year, as a cash crunch and his unpopular support for the Iraq war and moderate line on illegal immigration took a toll.
But McCain, who had called for years for more troops in Iraq, sees signs of success for the current US troop surge strategy as a springboard to re-launch a campaign based heavily on the "war on terror".
The former fighter pilot was shot down over Vietnam and endured five years of torture and heartache in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison, before later carving out a reputation as a rebel in Washington.
Frequently mocking himself as "older than dirt", McCain is a darling of reporters, though rivals have made hay from his sharp temper.
"Do I have a, quote, 'hot temper?' No, but if I lose my capacity for anger, then I shouldn't be in public service," McCain told NBC.
Recently, he staked out fierce opposition to the use of torture on terror suspects, and unusually for a Republican candidate, called for a serious effort to tackle global warming.
The key to his 2008 political resurrection was New Hampshire, where he won the primary in his unsuccessful 2000 campaign against George W Bush, and in national polls, McCain is basking in high-profile endorsements.
After he was squashed by Bush's charge to the White House in 2000, McCain tried to build ties to influential religious conservatives.
But he often looked uncomfortable in the effort, and his revival in 2008 has come after a return to the straight-talking style which helped him win over independent voters in 2000.