WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain of Arizona said he will form an exploratory committee as the first step toward a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
The action had been widely expected from McCain, who lost a primary bid in 2000 to George W. Bush and who is the most popular prospective Republican candidate for the nomination in 2008.
McCain, appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he won't make a final decision until talking with his family over the holidays.
Just five days after midterm elections that returned control of the House and Senate to Democrats, prospective presidential candidates in both parties put down markers about their intentions for 2008. Accelerated primary schedules and fundraising requirements will make it necessary for candidates to start their campaigns in the next few months.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., who becomes chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said on ABC News's "This Week" that "I still plan on running."
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Another prospective candidate, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said he will not run. He told supporters in an e-mail that he will decline the "great adventure" of a presidential run because his three-term seniority in the Senate will allow him to "best advance" liberal causes.
The 2008 race is expected to be particularly active because it will be the first time in decades that neither party has an incumbent president or vice president.
