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Giuliani: Extra Time, Early Voting Makes Difference In Florida

January 25, 2008 1:15 PM

ABC News' Jan Simmonds reports:  Touting his efforts to get Floridians out to the polls to take advantage of early voting, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said that he believes that those efforts may make the difference in the end.

"We'll have to find out how it went on the 29th," Giuliani said of the votes already cast.

"But we campaigned more vigorously during that period than anyone else and I think we will get our fair share of that vote. And now what we are doing is trying to get our vote out," he added. "We know we have a very good organization here, we've been putting this organization together for quite some time."

According to the campaign, over 30 percent of the GOP absentee voters and over 30 percent of the GOP early voters in this primary did not vote in either the 2006 or 2004 state primaries, so there is a high level of new voters participating in this year's process.

It's unclear who those voters chose to check off on their ballots, but the campaign is betting that their being in the state weeks before their opponents will make that difference.

The former New York City Mayor stopped at a nutrition center in Little Havana this morning to speak to a crowd of mostly Spanish-speaking Cubans. With the assistance of a translator, Giuliani explained his long history of involvement within the Cuban community and asked them to go to the polls for his candidacy.

"I think I have the longest relationship with the Cuban community, going back to the 1980's at least," said Giuliani following the event. "I have done many things with them outside the political context. I think they realize that. I understand them and appreciate what they have done, personally."

Constantly being pressed by reporters about what he will do if he loses Florida - a state he has gambled so of his candidacy on - the one time Republican national frontrunner responded by saying that losing was not even a consideration at this time.

"Well my goodness, two or three days before an election you don't talk about what happens if... You talk about winning the election," he said.  "These people who you see today want me to win this election, and this is a turnout election, so the enthusiasm the people have has a lot to do with that.  So we are gonna talk about winning the election. We're positive we are gonna win, we are sure that these efforts are gonna work."

January 25, 2008 in Dodd, Chris | Permalink | User Comments (3)

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Posted by: ugh! | Jan 25, 2008 9:16:05 PM

Posted by: shortnativetexan | Jan 26, 2008 2:09:35 AM

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