John McCain 2000 presidential campaign

John McCain for President 2000
Campaign	2000 Republican primaries
Candidate	John McCain U.S. Representative from Arizona (1983–1987) U.S. Senator from Arizona (1987–2018)
Affiliation	Republican Party
Status	Withdrawn (March 9, 2000)
Key people	Rick Davis (Manager) Mike Murphy (Strategist) John Weaver (Chief Political Adviser) Greg Stevens (Media Adviser) Mark Salter (Chief Speechwriter) Howard Opinsky (Press Officer) Craig Turk (General Counsel)
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John McCain 2000 (archived – Mar. 6, 2000)

This article is part of a series about John McCain
Political positions Electoral history Early life and military career Public image U.S. Senator from Arizona Early Congressional career (1983–2000) Senate career (2001–2014) Presidential campaigns 2000 presidential campaign primaries 2008 presidential campaign election primaries endorsements staff members Faith of My Fathers Worth the Fighting For Why Courage Matters The Restless Wave
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The 2000 presidential campaign of John McCain, the United States Senator from Arizona, began in September 1999. He announced his run for the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 2000 presidential election.

McCain was the main challenger to Texas Governor George W. Bush, who had the political and financial support of most of the party establishment. McCain staged an upset win in the February 2000 New Hampshire primary, capitalizing on a message of political reform and "straight talk" that appealed to moderate Republican and independent voters and to the press. McCain's momentum was halted when Bush won the South Carolina primary later that month, in a contest that became famous for its bitter nature and an underground smear campaign run against McCain.

McCain won some subsequent primaries, but after the March 2000 Super Tuesday contests he was well behind in delegates and withdrew. He reluctantly endorsed Bush two months later and made occasional appearances for him during the general election.