Arizona Sen. John McCain will declare a bid today for a sixth six-year term, an aide confirmed early Tuesday morning.
The announcement, set for 2:30 p.m. ET at an Arizona Chamber of Commerce event in Phoenix, end speculation that Republican and former GOP presidential nominee might retire after his term expires at the end of 2016.
McCain, who has drawn the ire of conservatives throughout his career, is likely to face a primary challenger. So far, only State Sen. Kelli Ward, who is little known outside her district, has showed strong interest in a bid. Conservatives are also hopeful that Rep. Matt Salmon will decide to challenge McCain.
If McCain can survive a primary, he’d be the immediate favorite to hang on for another term in the Republican-leaning state.
He also spent late 2014 and early 2015 working to install allies and oust critics in key local Republican posts that have created headaches for him heading into the new election cycle.
McCain was elected to his fifth term in 2010 after a bruising primary in which he was forced to spend $20 million against little-known J.D. Hayworth, a former congressman. Much of his funding in that race was leftover from his failed 2008 presidential bid, and his opponents are hopeful that he’s not as well-financed for a potentially expensive primary fight this time.
McCain, 78, raised $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2015 and will report $3.6 million on hand in his Federal Election Commission report.
Read more at POLITICO.
{Matzav.com}
A great man, a friend of Israel and a true American hero. How different things would be had he won in 2008. I tip my hat to him.
John McCain is a great man, a friend of Israel, and a true American hero. But he would have been an absolute disaster as President. He clearly showed that he was completely clueless regarding the economic collapse that occurred during the campaign, that he doesn’t understand economic policy and doesn’t seem to be interested. He foisted a not-ready-for-prime-time Vice Presidential nominee on the Republican Party who turned out to be an embarrassment even though there were numerous people who would have added strength to the campaign. And his answer to just about every foreign policy question seems to be to go to war.
Had McCain won, much of the US would likely have a third world economy today and we would likely be involved in three to six full scale wars.
Ironically had the Republicans nominated McCain in 2000 rather than Bush, McCain might well have defeated Gore and he would have been a much better President than Bush. The economy was in good shape at that point and didn’t need much in the way of tinkering, he would have responded well to 9/11 (or even prevented it), and there is no way that he would have invaded Iraq. But the Oligarchs who control the Republican Party had decided that Bush Is The Man and that was the end of the story. (This year they seem to want Bush’s brother; hopefully that won’t turn out as badly.)
McCain is running again?! He has ZERO chance of geTting the nomination.