3rd Place Would Finish Rudy

A poor showing in today's Florida primary could scuttle Rudy Giuliani’s campaign, his chairman admitted yesterday. "If he is second or first, he certainly has momentum. But if he finishes third, it's going to be hard to get momentum,” Houston lawyer Pat Oxford told the Dallas Morning News. Giuliani is touting himself as an odds-defying guy, but he's far behind John McCain and Mitt Romney in polls.

The candidate isn't throwing in the towel—yet. "In the past, I've done the impossible,” insisted Giuliani, who is hoping that 1 million-plus early Florida voters, who began casting ballots January 14, when he was leading in the polls, will give him the edge. Some 9 million voters are expected today. (More Florida stories.)