Mitt Romney

The vast majority of Rudy Giuliani’s New Jersey supporters are expected to endorse John McCain today, and pundits on both sides appear certain that McCain is the heavy favorite to win New Jersey’s winner-take-all primary on Tuesday. McCain will be in New Jersey on Monday, holding a rally at the Colonial Fire House in Hamilton; Rudy Giuliani is expected to accompany him.

Sen. Joe KyrillosFormer Mayor Rudy Giuliani is endorsing Sen. John McCain for president, and the McCain camp in New Jersey anticipates welcoming into its collective arms that grim exodus of former Giuliani supporters.

"What will happen, presuming published reports are somewhat accurate, is that a good portion of them will be joining us," said Larry Bathgate, national finance co-chairman of the McCain campaign.

Sen. Joe Kyrillos, state chairman of the Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign, hopes to stem the stampede. Today he corraled at least some former Giuliani partisans, dislodged from Giuliani's ranks after the former mayor's devastating loss in the Florida primary on Tuesday.

Following his disappointing third-place finish in Florida on Tuesday, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop his presidential bid today and endorse Sen. John McCain, sending GOP operators around New Jersey into BlackBerry heat-seeking mode.

Senators Bil Baroni (McCain's state campaign chairman) and fellow McCain-backer Kevin O'Toole naturally believe Giuliani's supporters in New Jersey will find refuge in the McCain camp rather than in that of former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, who placed second in Florida and is still in the presidential hunt.

Romney State Campaign Director Joseph Kyrillos will be pressing the case for the Giuliani wayfarers to join Team Mitt.

Mitt Romney's State Campaign Director Sen. Joseph Kyrillos spoke at the Lincroft Inn at a candidates' forum Tuesday night, shortly before his presidential candidate lost to Sen. John McCain in the key primary state of Florida, 36%-31%.

Absorbing some former backers of Fred Thompson and at least one defector from the camp of Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, state chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, today assembled an official, updated team of Romney backers at a breakfast in Parsippany.

Egg Harbor Township Mayor James "Sonny" McCullough is endorsing former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney for president, according to the Romney campaign.  McCullough endorsed Rudy Giuliani on October 1.

McCullough, who lost last year in his attempt to hold onto his district 2 state Senate seat, plans to offically back Romney on Tuesday morning.

Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, one of the state's most conservative legislators, has endorsed Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nomination.  Carroll has represented Morris County in the State Assembly since 1995.

In an Atlantic County Republican Committee straw poll this morning, Sen. John McCain bested former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani by a vote of 34-17, according to chairman Keith Davis.

In third place, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney received 10 votes, followed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with seven votes and U.S. Rep Ron Paul with two votes.

"This is a confirmation that conservative Republicans are rallying around McCain's message," said Davis, who endorsed the Arizona senator last summer.

Following the post South Carolina departure of Sen. Fred Thompson from the presidential race, former Assemblyman Guy Gregg, state director of the Thompson campaign in New Jersey, announced today he would throw his support behind Mitt Romney.

"We need a businessman and someone with a fresher perspective outside of Washington," said Gregg, who will recommend to others in the Thompson camp that they back Romney.

John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are in a statistical dead heat in New Jersey, and Hillary Clinton holds a 17 point lead for the February 5 presidential primary, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning. McCain leads Giuliani 29%-26%, with Mitt Romney at 14% and Mike Huckabee at 9%. Fred Thompson had 9%.

Clinton, who will make stops in Hackensack and North Bergen today, leads Barack Obama, 49%-32%. John Edwards gets 10% of the likely Democratic vote. Among Black voters, Obama leads 62%-27%, while Clinton leads among women 44%0-36%.