A January 24 Washington Times article falsely claimed that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani “skipped the first six nomination contests” in his campaign for president. In fact, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented (here, here, here, here, and here), Giuliani spent considerable time and money in an effort to win the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.

On the January 8 edition of NBC's Today, co-host Matt Lauer asked Giuliani: “Is that the strategy? You kind of bypass Iowa and New Hampshire and wait for Florida and New York and California?” Giuliani replied: “No, I wouldn't put it that way. What I would say is, we put a lot of time and attention into some of the states that are coming up later, like Florida. We've actually spent the most time in New Hampshire and then Florida is right behind that.” Indeed, ABC News deputy political director Karen Travers and senior political correspondent Jake Tapper reported in a January 8 ABCNews.com article that “statistics compiled by ABC News indicate that he [Giuliani] was clearly competing to win in the Granite State as hard -- if not harder -- than many of his rivals.” The article reported: “Statistics compiled by ABC News Political Unit and ABC News' team of off-air reporters indicate that Giuliani held more events in this first-in-the-nation primary state than any other Republican except for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in neighboring Massachusetts. He also spent more on TV ads than anyone except for Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.”

Moreover, an August 8, 2007, Associated Press article reported that Giuliani said: “Our largest staff contingent is now in Iowa. ... We're going to make a big effort in Iowa. We're making a big effort and our strategy was to focus on the caucuses.” Other reports noted that Giuliani was “100 percent committed to winning Iowa,” had made “20 stops” in the state, and maintained 12 paid staffers in two offices there.

From the January 24 Washington Times article:

The economy has suddenly become topic No. 1 for the Republican presidential candidates crisscrossing the nation's next primary state, with each claiming to be the most experienced to prevent the economic downturn from becoming a recession.

“I know how America works because I spent my life in the real economy,” Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who made millions of dollars as a venture capitalist, says in a new ad running in Florida. “My plan will make America strong.”

Meanwhile, former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has skipped the first six nomination contests and is in a must-win situation in Florida, tumbled to third in a new state poll.

A Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times poll yesterday showed the race a dead heat between Sen. John McCain of Arizona, with 25 percent, and Mr. Romney, with 23 percent. The poll of likely Florida primary voters had a margin of error of 5.1 percentage points.