Rudy Giuliani stood by his abortion position while in South Carolina yesterday, saying, "On social issues, there are some differences, but the differences aren't as great as some of the people who oppose me exaggerated," reports The State's Aaron Gould Sheinin. An internal strategy memo from the Giuliani campaign quotes from recent polls that "show Giuliani with a wide lead among self-described conservatives and regular churchgoers and a slim lead among those who say they attend church weekly." The campaign's strategy director said in the memo that polls will naturally tighten, but the sky won't fall when Republicans know more about Giuliani.

While in S.C., Giuliani picked up the endorsement of State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel which may "expand the late-starting Giuliani's small bridgehead within a state Republican establishment heavily co-opted early" by Sen. John McCain, writes Dan Hoover at the Greenville News. Giuliani also picked up the endorsements of former Rep. Arthur Ravenel and former state GOP chair Barry Winn.

Giuliani's lead has been one of many factors leading to questions about whether McCain can still win his party's nomination. However, "it's far too early to assume that McCain's recent dip signals the end of his presidential chances," writes Washington Post's Chris Cillizza. McCain "knows how to pace himself for the race" after his 2000 experience and unlike Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Despite disappointing fundraising, McCain "remains well positioned -- on a staff and activist level -- in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina." McCain constantly gets endorsements from state pols in those states and though "endorsements alone don't win you anything," McCain's "organizational heft should enable him to weather this bad period. Unless of course major supporters begin jumping ship."

There is speculation that McCain and Sen. Hillary Clinton are burning through a lot of cash to prevent such a thing from happening to them, the Wall Street Journal reports. We'll know just how much they spent on April 15 when finance details are released.

Much of the pressure on Clinton has come from Sen. Barack Obama, especially after his near-match of Clinton in first-quarter funds. Bloomberg's Jay Newton-Small and Kristin Jensen write that Obama's good news "couldn't have come at a better time, allowing him to trump" Clinton after "weeks of stumbles on the campaign trail" and after his poll numbers have dipped from their February highs, especially in Iowa. The Chicago Tribune reports Obama took in $435,000 through the Internet in the 24 hours after he announced his fundraising total.

In Iowa yesterday Obama began to detail the outlines of his health care plan that he's expected to present in the next few weeks, the Des Moines Register reports. For now, Obama has said his plan will include federal subsidies for the uninsured, but declined to say whether it will require a tax increase. Obama said he's open to raising taxes, but currently argues that money now "spent on outdated medical record-keeping and expensive treatment for preventable illness could be used to expand coverage."

Find the rest of today's elections news at RCP's Politics and Elections page.