ST. PETERSBURG --
In a major campaign coup, presidential candidate J
ohn McCain just gained the endorsement of one of the most popular political figures in Florida: Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist praised McCain as a ''
true American hero'' at the Lincoln Day Dinner here and said he decided to endorse him after ``thinking about it a lot.''
The endorsement from a governor with an approval rating that hovers between 60 and 70 percent could prove to be a crucial factor in persuading the 13 percent of undecided Republicans to vote for McCain on Tuesday.
McCain is tied for first in Florida with Mitt Romney, who pushed hard for Crist's endorsement along with Rudy Giuliani. Mike Huckabee was the only major candidate to not seek a Crist endorsement.
Crist's endorsement comes a day after
the high-profile decision by Florida Sen. Mel Martinez to back McCain. In a competitive race that has quartered the political establishment in Florida, the back-to-back nods by the two highest-ranking Republicans in the state gives McCain
the aura of a frontrunner...
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