Sen. John McCain put aside a former rivalry during the 2008 race for the GOP nomination to pledge his backing for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. McCain won the New Hampshire primary in 2008, prompting an eventual drop out of the race for Romney. Romney endorsed McCain as the eventual GOP nominee. In supporting Romney now, McCain chose to forego endorsing his former colleague, Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Despite their former rivalry, Romney and McCain say they enjoy a mutual respect for each other. Romney campaigned for McCain during the 2008 general election, and also during the 2010 midterms. Santorum and McCain, despite serving in the Senate together during part of Santorum’s tenure, have a more strained relationship.
