Video: John McCain's "attacks"

The deeply bitter and personal battle between John McCain and Mitt Romney turned even nastier today, with the emergence of a Romney campaign press release listing his rival's alleged profanity-filled outbursts, as millions turn out to vote in Florida's critical Republican primary.

Aides to Mr Romney have compiled a “top ten list” of what it claims are foul-mouthed and angry attacks by Mr McCain on fellow Republicans.

In what appeared to be record turnout for a Republican primary in the Sunshine State, with queues of voters snaking around the block in some districts, the two men traded final barbs from the stump. Mr McCain's official website also aired an advertisement superimposing Mr Romney's face on the image of a windsurfing John Kerry - the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee - to back up Mr McCain's accusations of recent days that his rival is nothing more than a Massachusetts's flip-flopper who follows the political winds.

The winner of today's primary — which according to polls is a close race between Mr Romney and Mr McCain — will emerge in a strong position to win the nomination outright, making it a crucial battle between two men who openly dislike each other.

A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released early today showed Mr McCain with a slim 35 per cent to 31 per cent lead over Mr Romney. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who has banked all on victory in Florida, and Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas, were tied for third place with 13 percent each.

As polls opened at 7am, one million voters had already voted by postal ballot and in districts where early voting was allowed — a record for a Republican primary in Florida.

After trading accusations for days the list, posted on Mr Romney's official campaign website on January 5 was suddenly given prominence on the final day of campaigning in Florida. It raised fresh questions about Mr McCain's infamously combustible temper, an issue that has dogged him for years.

It cites such alleged losses of temper as: “Defending his Amnesty Bill, Senator McCain lost his temper and screamed, 'F*ck you!' at Texas Senator John Cornyn.”

The memo adds at another point: “Senator McCain repeatedly called Senator. Pete Domenici (R-NM) an “a**hole”, causing a fellow GOP senator to say, “I didn't want this guy anywhere near a trigger.”

The Romney campaign also reported numerous negative phone calls, accusing him incorrectly of supporting taxpayer-funded abortions, opposing President Bush's tax cuts and favouring direct talks with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The McCain campaign said it was not responsible for the calls.

Attention is also focused on Mr Giuliani. He hinted yesterday that defeat here could end his campaign and predicted that whoever wins today's primary will go on the clinch the nomination.

He also declared today that he will prove the polls wrong and win in Florida. He vowed to take part in a Republican debate in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

Mr McCain and Mr Romney are vying for votes with two competing messages. Mr McCain, a former naval pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war, is focused on Iraq and the threat of Islamic terrorism, and his argument that only he is qualified to be commander-in-chief.

"Who it is that has got the background and knowledge to take on radical Islamic extremism?" McCain asked at one of his final rallies today. "I think that's where the people of Florida will make the judgment on my behalf."

Mr Romney, a former venture capitalist, has been helped by recent fears of a recession. His message that he has the business experience to turn the economy around — and that Mr McCain does not understand the economy — has been finding fertile ground in Florida, and nationally. A new survey indicates the former Massachusetts governor taking the lead in a national Republican poll for the first time.

At a campaign stop in Tampa, he accused Mr McCain of being a Washington insider incapable of fixing the economy.

On Monday both men spent the day tearing into each other. They each called the other “liberal” — perhaps the worst accusation that can be made against a Republican — and Mr McCain accused Mr Romney of being a serial “flip-flopper”. Mr McCain, particularly, cannot abide his rival.

Whatever the result, both men will leave Florida to begin a nationwide, state-to-state scramble, with only a week until the 22-state contest on February 5 — Super Tuesday.

Mr McCain will hope that Mr Giuliani drops out of the race, a move that would give him a significant boost in the delegate-rich states of California, New York — Mr Giuliani's home state — and neighbouring New Jersey. The two men draw from the same pool of moderate and independent voters, as well as those worried about national security. Mr McCain currently holds the advantage in all three states.

Mr Romney, who has far more money than Mr McCain, and can tap into his $250 million personal fortune, is expected to do well in Massachusetts, where he was governor, and will focus on Utah, where Mormonism, his religion, is dominant. He will also pay attention to Colorado, and Georgia, where his conservative stance on the issues will help him. He also has the funds to launch a nationwide advertising campaign on February 5, when dominance of the airwaves could prove crucial.

Mr Huckabee, the Iowa winner, is also trailing in the Florida polls, but has vowed to press on if he fails to win the Sunshine State. The former Arkansas governor and one time Baptist minister will focus on the few Southern states voting on Super Tuesday, in the hope of keeping his candidacy alive.

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