McCain has friends in Giuliani’s N.Y.

NEW YORK — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain raised more than $1 million Tuesday on rival Rudolph W. Giuliani’s turf and picked up the endorsement of the former New York mayor’s longtime nemesis.

Former Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) switched his allegiance in the presidential race from former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who abandoned his bid Tuesday, to McCain. D’Amato has long been at odds with Giuliani.

“If you want to win in November, John McCain is the man,” said D’Amato, calling the Arizona senator a national treasure and a true hero. “This is a man whose time is here, who can restore confidence, and people can have confidence in what he says.”

Recent polls showed McCain leading or tied with Giuliani in New York, which votes in two weeks and has a 101-delegate prize. Giuliani once had an enormous advantage but has seen his standing erode in New York and nationally.

Like McCain, Giuliani left Florida on Tuesday to raise money in New York at a private fund-raiser. He has pinned his candidacy on winning Florida’s primary Tuesday but now finds himself threatened on his home turf.

McCain, for his part, seized on a Democratic debate Monday night in which the candidates talked about him as if he were the GOP nominee. “It’s pretty clear that they view me as their most formidable opponent, and I agree with them,” McCain said.

Asked earlier in the day if he were going to New York to make a statement about the state, McCain referenced a prolific bank robber and told reporters:

“No. It’s the Willie Sutton syndrome. When they asked him why he robbed banks and he said, ‘It’s because that’s where the money is.’ ”

Aides say McCain has enough money to stay on TV in Florida with heavy levels of ads for the next week, and is trying to fill his bank account for the Feb. 5 primaries known as Super Tuesday.