American politician and military officer (1936–2018)
For other uses, see John McCain (disambiguation).
John McCain
Official portrait, 2009
In office January 3, 1987 – August 25, 2018
Preceded by
Barry Goldwater
Succeeded by
Jon Kyl
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by
John Jacob Rhodes
Succeeded by
John Jacob Rhodes III
Senatorial positions
In office January 3, 2015 – August 25, 2018[a]
Preceded by
Carl Levin
Succeeded by
Jim Inhofe
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Succeeded by
Byron Dorgan
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by
Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by
Fritz Hollings
Succeeded by
Ted Stevens
In office January 20, 2001 – June 3, 2001
Preceded by
Fritz Hollings
Succeeded by
Fritz Hollings
In office January 3, 199 •
Nov. 2, 1982: House of Representatives
Elected as Republican to the House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st District, replacing retiring GOP Rep. John Rhodes.
Nov. 6, 1984: Re-election
Re-elected to the House of Representatives.
April 2, 1987: Keating Five
McCain meets with federal regulators along with four other senators, on behalf of developer Charles Keating, in attempt to head off investigation into Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan.
Aug. 1991: Senate rebuke
Issued mild rebuke by Senate Ethics Committee for ties to Keating Five scandal.
June 7, 1997: Senate chairman
McCain becomes the chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee.
Sept. 27, 1999: Presidential campaign
After months of touring New Hampshire and other key primary states aboard the "Straight Talk Express" bus, he formally announces his campaign.
Feb. 1, 2000: Primary elections
McCain beats then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary by nearly 20 points, threatening Bush's expected easy path to the GOP nomination.
Feb. 28, 2007: Seek 2008 nomination
In an
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American Navy Lieutenant, and future U.S. Senator John Sidney McCain III, circa 1964.
When John McCain made his first bid for public office in 1982, running for a House seat in Arizona, critics blasted him as a carpetbagger, pointing out that he’d only lived in the state for 18 months.
“Listen, pal, I spent 22 years in the Navy,” the exasperated candidate reportedly shot back at one event. Then, after explaining that career military people tend to move a lot, he delivered a retort that made the attacks against him seem ridiculously petty: “As a matter of fact… the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.”
McCain won the election, launching a political career that earned him two terms in the House, six in the Senate, and his party’s presidential nomination in 2008. But even after four decades in public life, McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam continued to define him in the minds of many Americans, admirers and detractors alike. While he ultimately made his name on the national political stage, the scion of two four-star admirals was, at hi