John McCain: People Are Telling Me ‘Run for President Again’

Senator and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain (R-AZ) told reporters over the weekend that he would likely not attempt another run at the presidency—despite what he called multiple requests to do just that.

“Particularly since the shutdown, I’ve had a spate of emails and letters and phone calls saying, ‘Run for president again,'” McCain said. “As you know, I’m seriously thinking about running for reelection to the Senate. But I think, in the words of the late Morris K. Udall, as far as my presidential ambitions are concerned, ‘The people have spoken—the bastards.'”

McCain, who will be eighty in 2016, said he was not seriously considering a run, though an Arizona pollster said he’d been hearing renewed interest in a McCain campaign, and that the senator emerged from the government shutdown with much higher poll numbers than his more strident colleagues.

“After McCain said he was considering running for reelection in 2016, some headlines might have left the mistaken impression that he was considering another presidential bid rather than simply running for reelection,” Washington Post’s Aaron Blake said. “It’s possible that the questions from out-of-state reporters might have been in response to these misperceptions.”

[h/t AZ Central]

[Image via Phoenix New Times]

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