WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is facing a hot-button issue on the campaign trail as he stumps throughout the south -- whether state capitols should be allowed to fly the confederate flag.

Giuliani has repeatedly said he thinks it's up to the states to decide the issue, telling CNN Wednesday, "It's not a question that I'm going to decide. It's not a question that I should decide. I think it's something that states should decide."

But not all GOP presidential candidates hold the same view. Though Sen. John McCain proclaimed it a state issue during his first presidential run in 2000, during an interview that aired on CBS' "60 Minutes" last Sunday, the Arizona Republican said he thinks the flags should be removed from state capitols.

"I said it was strictly a state issue and clearly knowing it wasn't," McCain said of his position on 2000. "I feared that if I answered honestly, I could not win the South Carolina primary. So I chose to compromise my principles."

While the confederate flag has become a symbol of slavery and oppression to some, political observers say there is a group of white southern voters that GOP candidates are trying to win over.

"They want a candidate who is going to say the confederate flag is a symbol of nobility and courage and bravery and has nothing to do with racism," Dan Carter of the University of South Carolina said.