DES MOINES, Iowa -- Rudy Giuliani came to Des Moines on Wednesday to talk about being a fiscal conservative, but the day's headlines prompted a change of focus.

Video: Giuliani On Bloomberg

In the past 24 hours, the head of Giuliani's South Carolina campaign was indicted on cocaine charges.

A new poll also came out showing Giuliani is slipping in Iowa. And, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he is dropping out of the Republican Party.

Giuliani revealed Wednesday that he plans to spend $2 to $3 million campaigning in Iowa. He said he wants to spend that money reaching out to Iowans instead of using it to compete in the Ames straw poll.

Giuliani also spent nearly an hour focusing on his record as a fiscal conservative.

"I believe I'm the most fiscally conservative candidate in this race. Among Republicans, I don't think the title applies at all to the Democrats," he said.

After the speech, he signed autographs, posed for photographs and answered questions about Bloomberg and the charges against his former staffer.

Bloomberg's stepping away from the GOP and becoming unaffiliated fuels speculation that he will run for president.

"I like Mike very much. I'm disappointed he left the Republican Party. I still respect what he's done as mayor. I think he's done good things as mayor of New York City," Giuliani said.

Federal authorities said South Carolina campaign chairman and state treasurer Thomas Ravenel bought cocaine two years ago and intended to share with others.

"We responded by removing him. I don't know anything about the case, but obviously, (it's) a serious case. Anyone on federal indictment is a very serious case," he said.

A poll taken before Bloomberg's announcement showed how the Republican race is shaping up in Iowa.

The Mason-Dixon Poll has GOP candidate Mitt Romney in the lead, followed by Fred Thompson, who is undecided about his run, and then Giuliani.

The poll was taken after Giuliani and Republican presidential candidate and Arizona Sen. John McCain announced they wouldn't compete in the Ames straw poll.

"Yes, we can compete here realistically. We haven't spent a lot of time here because we've been spending a lot of time putting it together. So once we do spend a lot of time here, I think you'll see those polls change quite dramatically," he said.