Arizona Republican senator McCain enters US presidential race |
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Thu, 01 Mar 2007 08:04
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WASHINGTON (AFX) - Influential Republican Senator John McCain announced Wednesday he will run for the White House in the 2008 race.The Arizona senator, who lost his party's nomination in 2000 to now-President George W Bush, said on CBS television's 'Late Show with David Letterman' that he will make a formal announcement in April.But his long-expected entry into the race sees him running well behind former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, his main competition for the Republican nomination, according to polls.Regarded as something of a Republican maverick, McCain, 70, set Washington abuzz with a speech just following Congressional elections last November, which saw Republicans perform badly on voter unhappiness with the war in Iraq.As Democrats demand a phased withdrawal of US troops, McCain has argued that more men must be poured in to flush out insurgent strongholds, crush militias and sectarian violence and to train Iraqi forces -- a position since taken up by Bush.McCain's many maverick stands also include challenges to his own party over corporate financing and to the White House over torture.But a new poll Wednesday showed him lagging in the Republican race behind Giuliani, known as 'America's Mayor' for his handling of the Sept 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York. Giuliani was pulling in 44 pct of support, compared to 34 pct on Jan 19, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll.McCain, his top rival, lost six points, going to 21 pct in the new poll.Former legislator Newt Gingrich, who led the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994, gained 6 points, getting 15 pct of support compared to 9 pct a month ago.newsdesk@afxnews.comafp/hjpCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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