McCain wins tight battle in Florida

By Tim Gaynor

MIAMI (Reuters) - John McCain scored a hard-fought win in Florida's presidential primary on Tuesday, seizing the front-runner's role in a heated Republican race and possibly ending one-time favorite Rudy Giuliani's White House bid.

McCain, an Arizona senator, defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a tight Florida battle that gives him critical momentum heading into critical February 5 "Super Tuesday" voting in 21 states with Republican contests.

The result could mean the end for Giuliani, a former New York mayor who staked his campaign on a strong showing in Florida but was battling former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for a distant third-place finish after leading national polls for much of the year.

Giuliani reportedly was pondering dropping out and endorsing McCain as early as Wednesday, and talked about his campaign in the past tense during a speech to supporters in Orlando, Florida.

"We ran a campaign that was uplifting," Giuliani said. "You don't always win, but you can always try to do it right."

McCain's win put him at the front of the pack in a seesawing Republican race to pick the party's candidate in November's presidential election. He picks up all of Florida's 57 delegates to the national nominating convention.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton easily won a Florida Democratic race that featured no active campaigning because of a dispute between the national and state parties. The national party stripped the state of its delegates to the national convention and Democratic candidates pledged to stay away.

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