Q&A Friday #39: Will McCain Run As An Independent?

05 May, 2006 by John Hawkins

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Question: “John I’ve been kinda wondering about John McCain. I know he thinks its time for him to be the president, but I also know he has done too many things to anger the base of conservatives. Let’s just say he does not get the nomination. Do you think he would go independent out of spite to hurt conservatism? I mean like in anger say if I can’t be president then no republican will. Do you think he would run anyway and try to split the vote enough to allow Hillary to win? Could it work if he did?” — abel

Answer: McCain is a spiteful egomaniac and it’s not impossible to imagine his running as an independent, as a Democratic Veep, or even just plain old switching parties.

But…but…you have to figure that if he was going to do it, he would have already done it. He’s nearly 70 years old and he hasn’t switched parties yet. He could have run as an independent in 2000 and 2004, but he didn’t. John Kerry is a buddy of his and the VP slot was McCain’s for the asking, but he didn’t take it.

So, could McCain run as an independent? Maybe, but it seems unlikely at this point.

However, I will tell you that a third party challenge could be a problem for either party. Can they draw enough votes to win? No. Can they siphon off enough votes to cost one of the two big parties the election? You better believe it.