Giuliani fights for survival as Florida votes

By Jason Szep and Tim Gaynor

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A front-runner could emerge in the Republican race for the U.S. presidency in Florida where voters on Tuesday cast ballots that could also sink one-time favourite Rudy Giuliani's White House bid.

Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who have been leading in polls, traded final barbs as voting began. Giuliani, a former New York mayor, predicted victory despite polls that show him struggling for third place.

Voting is scheduled to wrap up at 7 p.m. EST (2400 GMT) in most of Florida and an hour later in the northwestern part of the state. Results usually emerge soon after.

McCain and Romney have been locked in a seesawing battle to be their party's candidate for the November presidential election. Giuliani has staked his campaign on a strong showing here after largely ignoring other states that handed victories to McCain and Romney earlier this month.

A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released early on Tuesday showed McCain with a slim 35 percent to 31 percent lead over Romney. Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee were tied for third place with 13 percent each in the poll, which had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

Giuliani won wide admiration as "America's mayor" for his calm during the September 11, 2001, attacks and but his campaign, focused on keeping the United States safe from terrorism, has faltered in recent weeks.

About one million absentee and early-voting ballots have already been cast, a factor that could help Giuliani given his intense campaigning in the state while rivals were elsewhere.

The winner in Florida will gain valuable momentum heading into the February 5 "Super Tuesday" voting, when 21 states from Georgia to Alaska will hold Republican nominating contests.