WASHINGTON — John McCain, fresh from piling up a commanding lead over his two main Republican presidential rivals in this week's cross-country primaries and caucuses, now faces the daunting task of closing the rifts within the GOP while trying to defeat his more conservative rivals.
Regarded with suspicion by many Republicans for his stands on taxes, immigration and other issues, McCain will face a hotel ballroom full of skeptics today when he addresses a major convention of conservative activists in Washington.
He will follow presidential rival Mitt Romney, who has tried to parlay conservative criticism of McCain into support for his own White House bid. But Romney came up short in most of the 21 GOP state contests Tuesday and found himself competing with Mike Huckabee for the mantle of conservatives' alternative to McCain.
Acknowledging the fire from the right, McCain said Wednesday that critics should "calm down" and close ranks for the good of the party.
"We will unite the party behind our conservative principles and move forward and win the general election," the Arizona senator said in Phoenix.
Huckabee and Romney huddled with their advisors Wednesday to determine the next step in a campaign in which it is nearly impossible for them to gain the 1,191 delegates needed for the nomination.
According to the Associated Press, nearly complete delegate returns after Tuesday's voting left McCain with 707 delegates, nearly 60% of the delegates needed. Romney had 294, Huckabee had 195 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
Undeterred, Dick Dresner, a senior advisor to Huckabee, said McCain's rivals still have a chance to shape the direction of the party by continuing their campaigns. "It's in both of their interests to keep going, show the strength of the conservative wing of the party," Dresner said.
McCain was not taking anything for granted. He canceled a prospective end-of-the-week trip to Munich, Germany, for a security policy conference. His campaign aired a hard-hitting ad against Romney in Virginia. And he is planning to campaign there and in Kansas, Washington state and Maryland, which are hosting contests over the next week.
But first McCain will face what one conservative called the "activist primary" when he addresses the 6,000 people who are traveling to Washington for today's kickoff of the three-day convention of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
