Thread: Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse John McCain

Jan 25, 2:58 PM EST


Florida senator to endorse McCain

By LIZ SIDOTI and BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press Writers

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MIAMI (AP) -- Florida Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse John McCain on Friday, The Associated Press has learned, a move likely to give the Republican presidential candidate a crucial boost with the state's Cuban-Americans just days before the primary.

The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor in a close fight with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community - and to keep his candidacy alive.

Two Republican officials disclosed the upcoming endorsement on the condition of anonymity in advance of the formal announcement.

Martinez, who was born in Cuba, emigrated to the United States as a teenager and is popular in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. It remains to be seen whether Martinez' endorsement will translate into votes given that a significant percentage of voters already have cast absentee and early ballots - many before Giuliani's drop and McCain's ascent in the state.

Florida's primary is Tuesday, and polls show McCain in a close race with Mitt Romney while Giuliani trails in his must-win state.

Martinez and the four-term Arizona senator are longtime friends who worked closely together on among other issues, a bill that would have created an eventual path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants in the country.

The two will appear together at the Latin Builders Association meeting, where the endorsement will be announced. Romney spoke to the group earlier, and Giuliani was finishing up his speech when the news broke. He left without taking questions from reporters.

As recently as Thursday night, Martinez indicated he would remain neutral in the race despite his friendship with McCain. He decided to endorse the Arizona senator Friday morning after conversations with several McCain supporters and his wife, officials say. The move surprised even his closest advisers.

He plans to spend the three days before the primary campaigning hard for McCain.

Martinez is a first-term senator who served as President Bush's secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2001 until 2003. Last October, he stepped down as the general chairman of the Republican National Committee after serving only 10 months.

Martinez, who is up for re-election in 2010, said he was relinquishing the job to spend more time focusing on his Florida constituents. He also said the RNC had achieved the objective he set when he assumed the job in January.

He had shared the chairmanship with Mike Duncan, a longtime RNC official who has been responsible for the party's day-to-day operations.

Three members of Miami-area members of Congress - Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - previously have given McCain their support.


http://tinyurl.com/2t7472

No surprise here

This is good news! Yet another clue for the SHEEPLE of the Aztec annexation...

Another good reason for true Republicans to put this guy in the tank.

Further evidence the Republican party is in a suicide mission to jihad itself.

Jihad for Dummy Republicans:

I hope all of these endorsements backfire on McAmesty.

Its clear the reconquista movement is getting behind
Juan McCain

I just hope America remembers

Originally Posted by usanevada

Its clear the reconquista movement is getting behind
Juan McCain

I just hope America remembers

Sorry but I don't think they will. If America had any "memory" he wouldn't have gone as far as he has after his amnesty stunt last summer. I just don't get it. I really don't.

As USAN noted, it's clear the OBL lobby (and the liberal MSM such as the New York Times) is getting behind McCain. See this about open borders Jack Kemp. I hope Romney can neutralize this:

Ex-Rep. Kemp helps lure Martinez to McCain
By Sam Youngman
Posted: 01/25/08 02:50 PM [ET]
Ex-Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), a former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary and a supporter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was instrumental in engineering Friday’s announcement that Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) will endorse McCain.

Kemp and Martinez are both former HUD secretaries, but it was the revelation that nobody from the McCain camp had actually called Martinez that led to Friday’s developments, according to a source.

Upon learning that, Kemp made a call to Martinez, suggesting he come to his fellow senator’s side.

Things progressed quickly from there as Martinez made the decision and Kemp made calls to Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, to make arrangements to fly Martinez to Miami for the announcement Friday afternoon.

The GOP primary next Tuesday is a close race between McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

A significant number of Republican Florida voters share Martinez’s Cuban heritage, and his support for McCain is an invaluable boost for the Arizonan.

Martinez and Gov. Charlie Crist (R) were two of the top-prized endorsements the GOP candidates were seeking. One Florida Republican source told The Hill Friday that Crist is still leaning toward neutrality.

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/ex-rep ... 01-25.html

Well of course he supports McLambrain! Look at how many politicians with Hispanic surnames are for amnesty. What does that tell you? There is only 1 Hispanic that has endorsed the SAVE ACT. We are being infiltrated for the purpose of a take over! The jokes on them however. If they are successful (heaven forbid) this country will just be another third world cesspool. America will no longer exhist. Our enemys do not have the ability to have a great country or they would have done so at home.