McCain and Romney look toward next fight

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McCain, an Arizona senator, beat Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in a hard-fought Florida primary that gave him clear front-runner status heading into the critical February 5 "Super Tuesday" voting in 21 states with Republican contests.

With most of the votes counted, McCain led Romney by 36 percent to 31 percent.

"Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions, but it is sweet nonetheless," McCain told supporters chanting "Mac is back" in Miami.

"We have a ways to go, but we're getting close," he said of the nomination to represent Republicans in November's presidential election. McCain's win gives him all of Florida's 57 delegates to the party's national nominating convention.

Giuliani, who staked his campaign on a strong showing in Florida, finished a distant third, just ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, in the state, after leading the Republican pack in national polls for much of last year.

Giuliani planned to drop out and endorse McCain, a friend and political ally before the presidential race began, on Wednesday, according to media reports. He talked about his campaign in the past tense during a speech 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."

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York 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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