Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- John McCain and Mitt Romney were locked in a close contest in Florida's Republican presidential primary, and the race was too close to call as polls closed around the state.

With 45 percent of precincts reporting, McCain, an Arizona senator, held an edge over former Massachusetts Governor Romney, 35 percent to 32 percent, in the race to capture Florida's 57 Republican convention delegates. The winner will be able to claim front-runner status in the party nomination fight.

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC said they were unable to project a winner in Florida.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had been counting on a win in Florida to revive his candidacy, was trailing the two leaders with about 15 percent of the vote, and the networks projected he wouldn't be able to make up the difference. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was behind with 13 percent.

``A candidate who can do well here is seen by Republicans in other states as someone who can win the White House,'' said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. ``You win Florida, it's the microcosm of America.''

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York won the Democratic primary with 51 percent of the vote, and Illinois Senator Barack Obama had 30 percent. Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina took 15 percent with 2,801 of 6,913 precincts reporting. The contest was largely a popularity poll because no convention delegates were at stake and none of the Democrats held public campaign events.

Heavy Turnout

State officials were forecasting a record turnout in the primary. Even before the polls opened today, more than 870,000 votes were cast through early voting and absentee ballots, according to Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for the Florida Department of State. About 1.3 million people voted in the 2000 primary, the last to feature contested races for both parties.

The results were a blow for Giuliani, 63, who had focused his campaign on the state.

``If Giuliani can't win in Florida, he's just not going to win,'' said Republican pollster David Hill, who isn't aligned with a campaign.

Giuliani ran 2,878 television ads in Florida this month, more than any other candidate, the Nielsen Co. reported today. Romney has been on the Florida airwaves since March 2007 and has broadcast 4,475 commercials during that time, more than anyone else.

Under the state party rules, the winner in Florida gets all of its 57 delegates to the Republican National Convention. Going into the primary, McCain had 41 pledged delegates to Romney's 59. Huckabee has 26. A candidate needs 1,191 delegates to become the nominee.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kristin Jensen in Washington at kjensen@bloomberg.net; Christopher Stern in Washington at Cstern3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 29, 2008 20:56 EST