2016 US Presidential Election - John McCain pulls support from Trump after lewd comments

Senator John McCain, a senior figure in the Republican Party who was its 2008 presidential nominee, formally withdrew his support for Donald Trump over lewd remarks that threw his White
House campaign into disarray.

"I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set. I thought I owed his supporters that deference," read a statement yesterday from McCain, the latest in a growing number of Republicans to withdraw support for Trump.

"But Donald Trump's behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy.

"Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump," he added, referring to his wife.

"I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate and we will not vote for Hillary Clinton. We will write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be president."

Republican senators not voting for Mr Trump

• Susan Collins, Maine senator
• Dan Sullivan, Alaska senator
• Lisa Murkowski, Alaska senator
• Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire senator
• Jeff Flake, Arizona senator
• Dean Heller, Nevada senator
• Mark Kirk, Illinois senator
• Ben Sasse, Nebraska senator
• Mike Crapo, Idaho senator
• Cory Gardner, Colorado senator
• Lindsey Graham, S Carolina senator
• John Thune, S Dakota senator
• Dan Fischer, Nebraska senator
• John McCain, Arizona senator

---

Other Republicans who have deserted him

• Jeb Bush, former Florida governor
• Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor
• Gary Herbert, Utah governor
• Jason Chaffetz, Utah congressman
• Carly Fiorina, former presidential candidate
• Barbara Comstock, Virginia congresswoman
• Mike Coffman, Colorado congressman
• Mike Lee, Utah congressman
• William Cohen, former secretary of defence
• Michael Hayden, former CIA director, former NSA director
• John Kasich, Ohio governor, 2016 presidential candidate
• Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania governor; former Homeland Security secretary
• Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, 2012 nominee
• Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida congresswoman

Republicans voting for Hillary Clinton

• Ex-President George HW Bush
• Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state
• Hank Paulson, former treasury secretary
• Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser
• Richard Hanna, New York congressman
• Chris Shays, former Connecticut congressman
• Meg Whitman, prominent Republican donor; CEO of Hewlett Packard