McCain: No third-party foes coming for Trump

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he doesn’t envision a scenario in which an independent presidential candidate challenges presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“I just think that the people have spoken,” he said Wednesday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “The fact is, the Republicans have spoken.

{mosads}“Honestly, I just don’t see this scenario,” he told Hewitt. “I think you and I have heard about this ever since it appeared that Trump was going to win the nomination.

“I just don’t see it happening. One of the things that both parties have done over the years is pretty well set a system up that it’s almost impossible to challenge when the two parties have their candidates.”

McCain also shared an anecdote involving former Rep. Morris Udall (D-Ariz.) in describing his frustrations with democracy.

“I had a beloved friend named Congress Morris Udall, we called him ‘Mo’ and he was a Democrat, one of the most amusing guys that ever lived,” he said.

“He ran against Jimmy Carter for the nomination in 1976,” he said.

“After he had finally lost the last primary … he said, ‘the people have spoken — the bastards.’ I kind of feel a bit like Mo Udall.”

Former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Wednesday ruled out a third-party bid challenging Trump.

2012 nominee Mitt Romney, meanwhile, has also reportedly decided against mounting a campaign or hunting for a suitable third-party option.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), another choice floated by conservative activists, took himself out of the running earlier this month.

“The answer is no,” Sasse spokesman James Wegmann said. “Sen. Sasse has been clear when asked this before: He has three little kids and the only calling he wants — raising them and serving Republicans.”