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John McCain

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John McCain
John McCain.jpg
U.S. Senate, Arizona
Incumbent
In office
1987-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position 26
PartyRepublican
PredecessorBarry Goldwater (R)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 2, 2010
First electedNovember 4, 1986
Next electionNovember 8, 2016
Campaign $$32,553,032
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
United States House of Representatives
1982-1986
Education
Bachelor'sUnited States Naval Academy, 1958
Military service
Service/branchUnited States Navy, Vietnam
Years of service1958-1981
Service branchSilver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross
Personal
BirthdayAugust 29, 1936
Place of birthPanama Canal Zone, Panama
Net worth$9,237,110
ReligionEpiscopalian
Websites
Office website

Contents

John McCain (b. August 29, 1936) is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Arizona. McCain was first elected to the Senate in 1986.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, McCain is a "rank-and-file Republican".[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of McCain's academic, professional and political career:[2]

  • 1958: Graduated from United States Naval Academy
  • 1973: Graduated from National War College, Washington, D.C.
  • 1958-1981: United States Navy
  • 1967-1973: Prison of war in Vietnam
  • 1983-1987: U.S. Representative from Arizona
  • 1987-Present: U.S Senator from Arizona
  • 2008: Unsuccessfully ran for President of United States

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

McCain serves on the following Senate committees[3]:

  • Armed Services
    • Subcommittee on SeaPower
    • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
    • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Foreign Relations
    • The Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Global Narcotics Affairs Ranking Member
    • The Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
    • The Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
    • The Subcommittee on African Affairs
  • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
    • Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia
    • Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight
    • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Indian Affairs

2011-2012

Issues

Gang of Eight

McCain is a member of the group of senators deemed the "Gang of Eight." This term is used to reference eight of the most influential Senators on immigration reform and includes four senators from each party.[4] The group calls for comprehensive and bipartisan immigration legislation that includes their "four basic pillars":

  • 1. A “tough but fair path to citizenship . . . .contingent upon securing our borders and tracking whether legal immigrants have left the country as required”;
  • 2. Reform our legal immigration system with a greater eye toward our economic needs;
  • 3. Workplace verification; and
  • 4. Setting up a system for admitting future workers (although the term “guest worker” is not used).[5]

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

John McCain endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [6]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" McCain voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Expanded background checks on gun sales

Voted "Yes" On April 17, 2013 the U.S. Senate took a vote on and defeated a measure that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases.[8] The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold.[9] McCain was one of the 4 Republican Senators who voted in favor of the measure.[10]

Drone filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[11][12][13]

McCain spoke out against Rand Paul, following the filibuster. He quoted the following from a Wall Street Journal editorial criticizing the filibuster, "If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in college dorms."[14]

McCain also blasted Paul for his remarks about the United States government being able to use a drone to kill an American citizen who spoke out against government policy, referencing Paul's comment about Jane Fonda. He stated, "To somehow say that someone who disagrees with American policy and even may demonstrate against it, is somehow a member of an organization which makes that individual an enemy combatant is simply false."[14]

He continued his criticism of Paul in the days following the filibuster. In an interview with the Huffington Post, McCain said: "They were elected, nobody believes that there was a corrupt election, anything else. But I also think that when, you know, it's always the wacko birds on right and left that get the media megaphone."[15]

Elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, John McCain won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Rodney Glassman (D), David Nolan (L), Jerry Joslyn (G), and a handful of write-in candidates in the general election.[16]

U.S. Senate, Arizona General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgJohn McCain incumbent 41.4% 1,005,615
     Democratic Rodney Glassman 24.4% 592,011
     Libertarian David Nolan 32.9% 800,097
     Green Jerry Joslyn 1% 24,603
     Write-in Ian Gilyeat 0.2% 5,938
     Write-in Loyd Ellis 0% 160
     Write-in Santos Chavez 0% 39
     Write-in Sydney Dudikoff 0% 14
     Write-in Ray Caplette 0% 7
Total Votes 2,428,484

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for McCain is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, McCain raised a total of $32,553,032 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[23]

John McCain's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2010 US Senate (Arizona) Won $21,878,921
2008 President of the United States Defeated $6,884,391
2004 US Senate (Arizona) Won $3,789,720
Grand Total Raised $32,553,032

2010

Breakdown of the source of McCain's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

McCain won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. During that re-election cycle, McCain's campaign committee raised a total of $21,878,921 and spent $22,247,415.[24]

His top 5 contributors between 2005-2010 were:

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, McCain missed 937 of 8,794 roll call votes from January 1987 to March 2013. This amounts to 10.7%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of March 2013.[25]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. McCain paid his congressional staff a total of $2,549,392 in 2011. He ranks 31th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 49th overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Arizona ranks 31st in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[26]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, McCain's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $3,226,239 and $15,247,981. That averages to $9,237,110, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth decreased by 42.33% from 2010.[27]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, McCain's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $9,249,289 and $22,785,990. That averages to $16,017,639, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[28]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. McCain ranked 28th in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators in 2012.[29]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. McCain ranked 16th in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.[30]

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, McCain votes with the Republican Party 96.4% of the time. This ranks 1st among the 47 Senate Republicans in 2011.[31]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term John + McCain + Arizona + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

John McCain News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


Personal

McCain and his wife, Cindy, have seven children.

External links


References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "John McCain," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "John Sidney McCain, III," Accessed October 20, 2011
  3. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  4. ↑ ABC News "Who Are the Gang Of 8 in Senate Immigration Debate?" Accessed May 7, 2013
  5. ↑ Washington Post "Gang of Eight immigration plan: Reality-based legislating" Accessed May 7, 2013
  6. ↑ New York Times "McCain backs Romney," January 4, 2012
  7. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ NPR "Senate Rejects Expanded Background Checks For Gun Sales" Accessed April 19, 2013
  9. ↑ Fox News "Background check plan defeated in Senate, Obama rips gun bill opponents" Accessed April 19, 2013
  10. ↑ NPR "Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote" Accessed April 19, 2013
  11. ↑ CNN "Rand Paul says he's heard from White House after filibuster," March 7, 2013
  12. ↑ USA Today "Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest," March 7, 2013
  13. ↑ ABC News "Rand Paul Wins Applause From GOP and Liberals," March 7, 2013
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Politico, "Rand Paul filibuster blasted by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham," March 7, 2013
  15. ↑ Washington Post "McCain calls Paul, Cruz, Amash wacko birds," March 8, 2013
  16. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1992"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1984"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1982"
  23. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for John McCain," Accessed March 25, 2013
  24. ↑ Open Secrets "John McCain 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 22 2011
  25. ↑ GovTrack, "John McCain," Accessed April 2, 2013
  26. ↑ LegiStorm "John McCain"
  27. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "McCain, (R-AZ), 2011"
  28. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "McCain, (R-AZ), 2010"
  29. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 21, 2013
  30. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: Senate," February 23, 2012
  31. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party," Accessed October 19, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Barry Goldwater 		U.S. Senate - Arizona
1987-Present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John McCain (R) • Jeff Flake (R)
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Ann Kirkpatrick (R) • David Schweikert (R) • Ed Pastor (D) • Kyrsten Sinema (D) • Paul Gosar (R) • Raul Grijalva (D) • Trent Franks (R) • Ron Barber (D) • Matt Salmon (R)
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