McCain announces run for his sixth term

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced Tuesday he will run for a sixth term, saying he is “determined as ever” to earn voters’ trust, even as he faces conservative opposition. 

“With a full heart, I ask Arizonans again for their support as I seek reelection to the United States Senate,” McCain said in a speech in Phoenix to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. 

{mosads}But the party’s 2008 presidential nominee is quickly becoming Tea Party groups’ top 2016 Senate target. 

On Tuesday, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) quickly jumped in, calling on its members to “replace” McCain. The anti-tax Club for Growth has also hinted it would consider backing a challenger to the Arizona senator. 

“There are few Republicans who have betrayed our conservative principles more than John McCain,” SCF President Ken Cuccinelli wrote to supporters. “John McCain lost his way a long time ago and it’s time to replace him with a strong conservative leader who will support and defend the Constitution.”

McCain, who will be 80 on Election Day, suggested Tuesday that he is ready for a potential primary fight. 

“No success in my life has ever come without a good fight,” the former Vietnam prisoner of war said in his Phoenix speech. “I’m eager to get started and ready for whatever comes.” 

“I think I have the knowledge and background to help the nation through very perilous times, and I believe that I can still contribute in many ways to the welfare and benefit of my state,” he told NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell in a Monday interview announcing his decision to run. 

So far McCain doesn’t have a declared GOP opponent, but state Sen. Kelli Ward has been the most vocal about challenging McCain and appears the most likely to run.

Before McCain’s announcement, Ward took to social media asking for donations. 

In a phone interview with The Hill on Tuesday, Ward compared a potential fight with McCain to David and Goliath, but she said, “you have to remember David did win in that fight.” 

She said she has formed an exploratory committee as part of her “testing the water” phase. 

“I think people in Arizona and across the country are ready for the next generation of leaders,” said Ward.

“I am seriously considering it. It isn’t something, obviously, to take lightly,” she told conservative radio host Mark Levin last month. “I know that this is a David and Goliath story. … I know that I’m the underdog.”

Her candidacy would give conservatives the establishment vs. grassroots primary battle that has toppled incumbents in the past few cycles. But the relative political newcomer would likely struggle to compete with McCain’s campaign and fundraising machine. 

National Tea Party groups are instead hoping to persuade Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) to launch a primary challenge against McCain. The Hill reported earlier this year that he had been considering a bid. 

Conservatives argue that Salmon could raise the kind of money needed to be competitive against McCain and bring outside groups into the race.

Adam Brandon, the executive vice president of FreedomWorks, said, while he appreciated McCain’s service, “at some point, you’ve got [to let] some new blood get in there.”

“[If Salmon] got in the race … it would be pretty hard to not get involved,” he said. “He hasn’t said yes, but he hasn’t said no.”

Brandon suggested that more than one candidate jumping into the primary would likely make McCain difficult to beat.

“You’ve got to make sure that everyone is unified in the state,” he said. “If you have more than one serious challenger to John McCain, I don’t know if you can pull it off.”

Meanwhile, Club for Growth President David McIntosh told The Hill earlier this year that the group will see if there is a “path to victory” for a potential challenger.

If those conservative groups oppose McCain, they’ll be at odds with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which reiterated it is backing the incumbent. 

“We are 100 percent behind John McCain’s reelection campaign,” NRSC spokeswoman Andrea Bozek said. “No one has fought more for our country than John McCain and we will do whatever it takes to ensure he keeps serving Arizona families.”

The Club for Growth stayed out of the 2010 primary fight between McCain and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

McCain supporters, however, appeared bullish about the senator’s ability to win reelection, pointing to his decisive victory over Hayworth. 

Kurt Davis, an Arizona Republican consultant and former McCain campaign aide, said “it would be highly unlikely” for McCain not to face a primary challenge.

“History is a great guide with John McCain,” Davis added. “I always call him the terminator candidate.”

The Arizona Republican’s announcement coincided with Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) announcement that he is running for president in 2016. 

McCain, one of the Senate’s leading defense hawks and current chairman of the Armed Services Chairman, has frequently clashed with Paul, who has repeatedly called for cuts to defense spending. 

He touted his perch on the defense committee.

“I’ve never been in a better position to help our military defeat our enemies and secure our nation,” he said.