Giuliani’s departure would help McCain in N.J.

Rudy Giuliani's departure from the presidential race would leave Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) alone atop the Republican field in New Jersey - at least for now.

Polls conducted earlier this month by Quinnipiac University and Fairleigh Dickinson University had shown McCain in a statistical dead heat with Giuliani.

Those results reflected a major surge by McCain, who had been biting into an early advantage enjoyed by Giuliani based on his status as the former mayor of nearby New York City. Giuliani was expected to quit the race following his third place finish in Florida.

McCain's surge was being seen "all over New Jersey," State Sen. Bill Baroni (R., Mercer), who is the Arizona senator's state campaign chairman, said in a recent interview. "He is no stranger to Republicans here and has been campaigning for New Jersey Republicans consistently over the last eight years."

The FDU PublicMind poll of 797 likely primary voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Twenty-three percent of the respondents chose McCain, and 20 percent said they favored Giuliani. Former Massachusetts Go. Mitt Romney had 10 percent, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had 7 percent.

Quinnipiac polled 862 likely primary voters; the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points for the Republicans and 4.6 percent for the Democrats.

In that poll, McCain finished with 29 percent, to 26 percent for Giuliani. Romney had 14 percent, with 9 percent each for Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has since dropped out.

Polls conducted last year showed Giuliani the front-runner in New Jersey, but the recent polls had shown his edge eroding.

December's Quinnipiac poll had McCain at 12 percent to Giuliani's 38 percent.

Contact staff writer Cynthia Burton at 856-779-3858 or cburton@phillynews.com.