When Kevin Cramer signed up as North Dakota chairman for Republican Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign, he felt a twinge for not backing John McCain, who campaigned for Cramer when he ran for Congress in 1996.

Now that Giuliani has dropped out of the race, the consequence of a third-place finish in a Florida primary that he needed to win, the North Dakota public service commissioner says he'll be an advocate for McCain.

"I've always had a little bit of guilt about the fact that I wasn't supporting him in the first place," Cramer said Wednesday.

Among the Republican presidential contenders, Giuliani had the only North Dakota campaign office, in Fargo, and has been the only one so far to visit the state during his campaign. He stopped in Fargo last November to speak at a fundraiser.

Jason Stverak, the former director of the state GOP, has been working for the former New York mayor since last summer.

With Giuliani's withdrawal and his endorsement of McCain on Wednesday, Stverak won't have a chance to see how his organizing efforts would have played out.

"We had built a pretty extensive grassroots operation. We were ready to turn out the vote," Stverak said. "I think Rudy would have done pretty well.

"I wouldn't change a thing about how we did it," Stverak said. "It wasn't just North Dakota as a separate race, it was an entire team in all 50 states … We fell short this time, but that does not mean that we weren't working for who we believed to be the best candidate out there."

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who is the North Dakota chairman of McCain's campaign, said he believed the Arizona senator would benefit most from Giuliani's withdrawal.

"I expect that (McCain) will carry the day next Tuesday. He has the momentum going in," Stenehjem said. "He does have the experience. He's solid. He's a conservative. And I think that he's got a streak of independence that really is something that North Dakotans like in a politician."