WASHINGTON _ Re-elected to serve a sixth term in the Senate, John McCain, R-Arizona, won't rule out running again in 2022.
In his Election Night victory speech, McCain called himself the luckiest guy in the world and thanked his constituents for electing him to what he believed to be his final term. But just over one week later, McCain, 80, told The Arizona Republic he won't make any decisions regarding another campaign for at least three years, leaving the door open for another run.
First elected in 1986, McCain is one of the most senior members of the Senate, and as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, he still wields a significant amount of power and influence. In the last week McCain has also tried to buoy Senate Republicans to take a hard line against president-elect Donald Trump's cozy relationship with Russia.
In a statement released the day after Trump's first phone call with Vladimir Putin, McCain indirectly warned the president-elect to be wary of the Russian president's friendly overtures.
"With the U.S. presidential transition underway, Vladimir Putin has said in recent days that he wants to improve relations with the United States," the statement read. "We should place as much faith in such statements as any other made by a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatened America's allies, and attempted to undermine America's elections."
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, has also alluded to launching a bid for re-election in 2018. Currently in the midst of his seventh term, Hatch, 82, is the longest serving Republican in the Senate.
