John McCain to run for sixth term in the US Senate because he is 'just getting started'

The former Republican presidential nominee will be 80 years old by the time of next year's election

Sen McCain: 'I have never been more concerned about the security of this nation' (Reuters)

Arizona Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential nominee, has announced his intention to run for a sixth term in the US Senate. By the time of next year’s election, Sen McCain will be 80 years old, but he has insisted that he is “just getting started”. Presently, there are seven other US senators older than McCain – though at least one of them, Maryland’s Barbara Mikulski, intends to retire at the end of the current Congress.

In an interview with NBC News, Sen McCain pointed out that he still works 18-hour days, and that his mother, Roberta, is going strong after more than a century. “I am happy to tell you my mother is 103 years old and she is doing well,” he said.

Sen McCain, who as a young bomber pilot was shot down over North Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years, ran against Barack Obama for the US presidency in 2008.

Announcing his re-election bid, Sen McCain said: “I have never been more concerned about the security of this nation because of the feckless leadership of the president of the United States.”