CQPolitics

McCain s McCain started out strong, flagged over the summer in the middle and came out of Super Tuesday as the presumptive nominee. Early supporters believed he deserved the nomination because of his heroism as a Vietnam prisoner of war, his quarter-century in Congress, his competitive challenge to George W. Bush for the 2000 GOP presidential nomination and his loyal support of Bush’s 2004 re-election bid. But the campaign bogged down, plagued by over-spending and under-fundraising, and in July 2007, the campaign shook up its senior staff and dramatically cut expenses. But McCain thrived as the underdog, and he curried favor with Republican voters who shared his unflagging support for a U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq. It helped McCain that the immigration issue, which had hurt McCain among conservatives who viewed his proposed overhaul as “amnesty,” was relegated to the back burner. McCain on Jan. 8 won the New Hampshire primary, right in former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney’s backyard. A win in the South Carolina primary (Jan. 19) sealed his front-runner status and he has won the majority of the contests since.

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