Leading conservative Ken Cuccinelli has declared war on Sen. John McCain — calling the veteran GOP lawmaker from Arizona a "vicious, vicious, anti-conservative Republican" who must be ousted.
Cuccinelli, president of the influential Senate Conservatives Fund, told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV his group has "big problems" with McCain, who this week revealed he'll seek a sixth term.
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"He takes a baseball bat to conservatives and conservative principles all the time. And then he turns around and kisses and hugs with the Democrats," said Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia.
"He is vicious, vicious, anti-conservative Republican, and you can see what he's done in Arizona.
"He has been purging the Republican Party in Arizona for a long time as best he can of conservatives, of people who actually have principles and expect their elected officials to stick to them."
But while McCain's longevity means he may control "various party apparatus," his actions have inspired many in The Grand Canyon State to work together to oust the 78-year-old politician, Cuccinelli said.
"There is a big grassroots network ready to step behind an A-tier candidate to take on John McCain," he said.
McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was first elected to the House in 1982 and to the Senate in 1986.
He has long been considered too liberal by Republican conservatives.
In January 2014, was censured by the Arizona Republican Party for his liberal voting record and work with Democrats in Washington. The state party called his record "disastrous and harmful."
One issue that irked McCain's fellow Republicans was his failure to back a conservative strategy to defund the Affordable Care Act. McCain argued that such a plan would result in a government shutdown.
In addition to trying to defeat McCain, Cuccinelli said his group is set to throw big money behind candidates it believes in.
"The Senate Conservatives Fund was the No. 1 conservative PAC in the country in delivering dollars to our endorsed candidates," he told Steve Malzberg.
"We delivered more dollars for the candidates to spend than all other conservative PACs combined."
The Senate Conservatives Fund was found by then-South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint in 2008 and works hand in hand with the tea party movement.