Rudy Giuliani's top campaign aides are not being paid this month, an ominous sign as the former mayor makes a do-or-die push to win Florida's Republican presidential primary.Though the campaign revealed Friday it had $7 million on hand at the end of December, Giuliani said he expects to sink almost the entire wad into Florida. "Frankly, Florida is real important to us," he told reporters. "So we're going to put, if not everything into Florida, almost everything."
The remarks suggested Giuliani is banking on somehow using a win in Florida's Jan. 29 primary to generate a mountain of cash in lightning speed for the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests in more than 20 states.
As improbable as that sounds, Giuliani very likely has more money than Arizona Sen. John McCain or former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the New Hampshire and Iowa winners, both of whom are known to be running leaner campaigns. Giuliani finished far back in the pack in those two states.
Campaign aides insisted Friday that the decision to forego salaries was a voluntary act of dedication, not desperation. "I believe in Rudy and believe he should be President," said campaign manager Mike DuHaime, who is among those not collecting a paycheck. "And I'm going to do whatever I can to help." DuHaime declined to provide names of payless staffers, but he suggested it was between 15 and 20 people.