McCain wins Florida; Giuliani to drop out and endorse him

Sen. John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of next week's contests across 21 states and lining up a quick endorsement from soon-to-be dropout Rudy Giuliani.

"It shows one thing. I'm the conservative leader who can unite the party," McCain said after easing past former Massachusetts Gov, Mitt Romney in a hard-fought contest.

"It's a very significant boost, but I think we've got a tough week ahead and a lot of states to come," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.