McCain Wins Florida, Seeks to Reconcile with Conservatives
Sen. John McCain came out on top in Florida after a bitter fight with chief rival Mitt Romney for the heavy delegate state that offered to add a major boost to the winning campaign before next week's contests in over 20 states.
"It shows one thing. I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party," McCain said after his Tuesday win, according to The Associated Press.
"It's a very significant boost, but I think we've got a tough week ahead and a lot of states to come."
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The Arizona senator won 36 percent of the vote, compared to Romney's 31 percent in a primary where winner takes all 57 delegates. In other states, delegates usually are divided among candidates according to percentage points.
McCain's win cemented his status as the Republican frontrunner for the party's nomination. He had previously won New Hampshire and South Carolina, while Romney captured Wyoming, Michigan and Nevada. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee won the first contest state, Iowa.
Self-described moderate voters flocked to the McCain camp, who took 41 percent of voters in this category, compared to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's 22 percent.
But perhaps more surprising was McCain's close gains among voters who called themselves conservatives. Romney took 37 percent of conservative votes compared to McCain's 27 percent.
Conservative radio talk show host, Bill Bennett, commented that McCain needs to reach out to the conservative wing of the party to maintain his frontrunner status and prepare for the general election.
"He is likely on his way to the nomination, but he has got to mend his fences with conservatives, because you do not want a convention with a lot of unhappy people," said Bennett, who is also a CNN political analyst.
"The anger and bitterness at John McCain is extreme among a lot of conservatives."
During the 2000 presidential race, McCain had called some conservative Christian leaders "agents of intolerance."
But McCain seems to be making efforts to reconcile with conservatives, promising to appoint conservative judges to the federal bench. He also said Ronald Reagan inspired him to be a Republican.
"I am as proud today to be a Republican conservative as I was then," he said during his acceptance speech Tuesday, according to CNN.
Yet conservative Christian organizations such as Focus on the Family and Family Research Council have repeatedly voiced hesitation and even frustration when it comes to McCain during their analysis of primary results.
They said that although McCain has a good record on the abortion issue, his support of embryonic stem cell research is frustrating. Some conservatives liken embryonic stem cell research to abortion because the embryo is destroyed during the extraction process.
"He [McCain] likes his reputation of a maverick, but we want someone we can depend on," FRC president Tony Perkins said during a FOTF Citizenlink broadcast.
But an exit poll survey showed that abortion was not among the top issues in Florida. Rather, the economy was most important for nearly half of Republican voters. Next were terrorism, the war in Iraq and immigration, according to the poll conducted by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International for The Associated Press and the television networks.
The other GOP candidates trailed McCain and Romney in Florida. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani came in third at 15 percent, his best showing in the race so far, and will reportedly soon drop out of the race and endorse McCain, according to CNN sources.
Huckabee came in fourth at 14 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul was fifth and last.
On Feb. 5, or Super Tuesday, 21 states will hold Republican contests with a total of 1,023 delegates on the line.
