Senator McCain says Trump would hurt own re-election bid: Politico

Reuters
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks during a campaign event for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham (not seen) in New York July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator John McCain told supporters in Arizona last month that having Donald Trump on the Republican presidential ticket would hurt his own re-election bid in Arizona, a state with a large Hispanic population, Politico reported on Thursday. "If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30 percent of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life," McCain said, according to a recording of the event obtained by the news outlet. Trump has alienated many Hispanics with his harsh rhetoric on immigration, including vowing to build a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico and calling some immigrants rapists. McCain was the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)