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California GOP Senate nominee Carly Fiorina is skipping a chance to appear with Sarah Palin at a major Republican National Committee fundraiser so she can campaign with Sen. John McCain instead. Fiorina has not yet announced the Saturday campaign appearances with McCain, but a campaign source tells POLITICO that she will be spending her time on the stump with the 2008 GOP presidential nominee rather than his running mate, the former Alaska governor. POLITICO reported last week that both Fiorina and GOP gubernatorial Meg Whitman would be skipping the RNC fundraiser in Anaheim, citing scheduling conflicts. The RNC is heavily...

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NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — If John McCain hadn't made it clear before, he's leaving no doubt that the presidency is a dream gone by. Addressing a veterans rally for a Republican Senate candidate in Nashua on Saturday, the Arizona senator was reminiscing about his presidential campaigns in New Hampshire, where he won the Republican primaries in 2000 and 2008. He told the audience of 200 that "this may surprise you, but I will not be running for president again." He promised, though, that he will do everything in his power to make sure New Hampshire maintains its first-in-the-nation presidential primary...

Meghan McCain apparently thinks there will be a "bloodletting" in the GOP in the next election, because the party has no room for controversial socially liberal figures like her. Appearing on CNN's "American Morning" Thursday, McCain criticized the current state of the Republican Party, which she believes is too conservative and narrow-minded... (snip) When the subject of "RINOs" (Republican-In-Name-Only) surfaced, McCain asserted that conservative icons Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan "would both be called that today." In addition, McCain had dark predictions for the GOP in the "next election," predicting a party purge of sorts. (snip) CNN co-anchor Kiran Chetry...

PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain framed the porousness of America's borders as both a national security concern and a human rights issue Sunday in the only scheduled general election debate in Arizona's U.S. Senate race. McCain noted politicians in Mexico have been targeted by the cartels that are smuggling drugs into the United States and that hundreds of illegal immigrants die in the desert every year trying to sneak into the country. "The brutality and the human rights abuses are beyond horrendous," McCain said.

Republican Senator John McCain warned on Monday that U.S. lawmakers should respond to the concerns of the conservative Tea Party movement or else its supporters could give rise to a third political party. In an interview at the Reuters Washington Summit, McCain also said Republicans need a "positive agenda" in campaigning for the November 2 congressional election rather than simply saying no to Democratic policies. McCain, who earned a reputation as a political maverick for bucking his party, has recently swung to the right on some issues to beat back a conservative challenger in his re-election bid in Arizona. He...

John McCain met recently with the children of illegal aliens to discuss the Dream Act, among other aspects of amnesty. McCain sounded very tough on illegal immigration during his recent primary campaign but now he has won and is a shoo-in for reelection in November. Harry Reid has tacked the Dream Act onto a defense bill which will be voted on before the election. What do you think, Arizona? How will McCain vote? Note that McCain explains in the beginning that there are other senators who do not support the Dream Act and that will make passage difficult. He promises...

Over the years, Sen. John McCain has been known to change his views every now and then. Environmentalists hope this is one of those times. Now that McCain has dispatched a conservative primary challenger and Arizona appears set to send him back to the Senate, climate advocates are optimistic they will soon regain one of their biggest champions. ... Multiple sources said McCain reassured them in private that he still believed in the climate issue... ...

Arizona Senator John McCain was in New Mexico Wednesday night as the guest speaker at the border sheriff’s conference held in Sandoval County. The Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition annual conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort. The alliance includes law enforcement from 26 counties along the U.S.-Mexican border, from Texas to California, whose goal is to help combat violence along the border. McCain’s frustration was obvious as he addressed the law enforcement officials, saying the president isn’t making border security a high enough priority. “It’s not appropriate, in my view, for the president to tie securing the border...

BULLHEAD CITY — Repealing the new federal health care law and securing the border were the two issues that drew thunderous applause Thursday morning, when Arizona Sen. John McCain promised to do both if he’s re-elected to a fifth term in November. McCain appeared at a hastily arranged town hall meeting, attracting a crowd estimated at over 100, filling the Firehouse Coffee Company and spilling out onto the sidewalk at Riverview Mall. Giving a short talk and answering questions for almost an hour, McCain had some sharp criticism for President Barack Obama, whom he faced in the 2008 presidential election....

Sen. John McCain made a stop on Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's radio show this morning, going out of his way to defend what's become a local problem for Pawlenty — his national political travel. "You are working hard for the people of Minnesota and traveling around the country at a time when we need your kind of leadership," McCain said. McCain also said he saw a coming political "tsunami." "People are angry in a way that I have never seen them before," he said.

Now that John McCain has taken care of his political business in Arizona, it is time for him to return to Washington and the responsibilities he bears as a leader of the Republican Party and the nation. (snip) One of the conspicuous failings in the past few years has been the absence of a second party making principled decisions on when to support and when to oppose the president. McCain has the best opportunity -- and the best credentials -- to restore this. (snip) It is up to McCain to choose when and how to exert the influence he commands......

Two days after being trounced in the Arizona GOP Senate primary, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth still hasn’t called Sen. John McCain to congratulate him. And it’s not as if Tuesday night’s outcome was in doubt for very long. McCain eviscerated Hayworth by 24 percentage points and The Associated Press called the race not even a full two hours after the polls closed. The four-term senator quickly took the stage at the downtown Phoenix Convention Center to declare victory and make it an early night. But the McCain campaign is still a bit surprised it never heard from Hayworth, a former...

A Senator’s journey from bipartisan maverick to right-wing ideologue—one flip-flop at a time. In theory, John McCain's right-wing madness could come to an end on Tuesday, when he is expected to prevail over former Rep. JD Hayworth in Arizona’s Senate primary. Faced with a stiff conservative challenge, McCain has spent this election cycle defying many of his long-held moderate positions. In fact, his transformation from aisle-crossing, party-bucking maverick (see this 1998 Mother Jones interview) to cookie-cutter conservative has been years in the making. During his 2008 presidential bid, he began to lurch rightward on a litany of issues in his...

Sen. John McCain was once one of the major Republican supporters of immigration reform, arguing for comprehensive legislation as recently as 2008. Faced with accusations of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants, McCain has moved to a much tougher immigration stance during his Republican primary. But after the primary vote next Tuesday, will the old McCain come back? The winner of the GOP primary in Arizona is likely to have a straight shot to the Senate seat, NPR reported yesterday. But first McCain must beat opponent J.D. Hayworth, a former congressman who has attacked McCain for his previous support of immigration...

One of the worst presidents in American hostory was elected in 2008. Barak Hussein Obama. Nothing would be sweeter than a rematch in 2012. McCain/Palin would slaughter Obama/Biden in 2012. We would have a bright red map on election day and the dems would be in tears. My mouth waters at the thought of all the furious democrats. They would get to watch just about all of what Hussein did reversed. I'd thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. No more socialist Obamacare and no more socialist agenda. We would go back to the days of individualism and hard work which...

Former presidential nominee slams 'Eastern press' QUEEN CREEK, ARIZ. — It's dark, but still an oppressive 102 degrees, when Sen. John McCain agrees to talk to me in a parking lot next to his campaign SUV (flex-fuel and energy efficient, I'm assured). It's revved and running, no doubt for the air- conditioned comfort of those inside, but perhaps also for a quick getaway if needed. I have a feeling our time will be short, so I plunge quickly into questions about the upcoming Aug. 24 Republican Senate primary . "Why are you spending so much money?" I ask ( nearly...

(CNN) - At a Tea Party rally Sunday on the U.S.-Mexico border in support of tough immigration laws, Arizona Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth slammed his opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, and turned McCain's words back on the veteran senator. On a ranch in Hereford, Arizona, and with the border fence visible several hundred yards behind him, Hayworth also praised Arizona's new immigration law that was signed by the state's governor, who has spent the last two days campaigning with McCain. Pulling a word from a McCain letter on immigration which first surfaced in April, Hayworth said it was time to...

In a rapid turnaround trying to capitalize on a J.D Hayworth comment at a tea party rally earlier this week, U.S. Sen. John McCain released a new web video drumming Hayworth for reportedly preferring President Obama to the Republican incumbent senator. The video begins with a picture of President Obama and lists a litany of criticisms, from the 9.5 percent unemployment rate, to the $13 trillion national debt and the lawsuit against Arizona’s immigration law. The text interrupts with, “but J.D. says he’d rather have Barack Obama as president.”

GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. — Times are strange for a recovering maverick. "You've been the first one who's run across the aisle," a woman seated in front of Sen. John McCain said accusingly. "Do you have a question?" he snapped. "Do you have a question, really?" "How can we believe you now if in the past you were so different?" The question could have come from any of the 150 people who filled a rec center in this retirement community 30 minutes south of Tucson. Even among loyalists, it looms. Who is the real John McCain? The 2008 Republican presidential nominee...