Former U.S. ambassador to Canada set to endorse McCain

Last Updated: Friday, February 1, 2008 | 11:11 PM ET

CBC News

John McCain is slated to pick up an endorsement from the United States' former ambassador to Canada as part of an aggressive campaign strategy in Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney's Massachusetts.

Former U.S. ambassador Paul Cellucci will announce his endorsement of Republican candidate John McCain on Saturday.
(Canadian Press)

Paul Cellucci, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts and U.S. ambassador, will announce his support for McCain on Saturday, just days before contests are held across more than 20 states on Feb. 5. 

Known for his controversial statements regarding Canada's positions on the Iraq war and U.S. missile defence program, Cellucci was the U.S. ambassador from April 2001 to March 2005, when he resigned from his post.

Cellucci had previously registered his support with Republican candidate and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to a January story in the Boston Globe that quoted Cellucci as saying the decision was "not anti-Mitt." 

Giuliani has since dropped out of the race following a third-place finish in Florida Tuesday. Immediately after his withdrawal, Giuliani offered McCain a resounding endorsement, calling him an "American hero."

The Arizona senator has also garnered an endorsement from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

McCain, 71, is going into Super Tuesday with powerful victories in South Carolina on Jan. 19, and Florida earlier this week. Coupled with a win in New Hampshire last month, they have set the stage for his strong lead over Romney.

Having been endorsed by both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, the Arizona senator is planning appearances and a series of radio ads in Massachusetts Monday. Former governor Jane Swift will also appear on McCain's behalf.

"From what we see in the polls, I think that there's a very good chance it could be over on Tuesday, but I think there's a lot of undecided voters," McCain told reporters on his campaign plane.

In the overall delegate contest, McCain is currently tops at 93, followed by Romney with 59 and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee at 40.

Having lost the bulk of the Northeast U.S. to McCain, Romney is banking on a Tuesday win in Massachusetts, where he attended Harvard's business and law schools and worked as state governor for one term. His family was also raised there.

Romney's connections to the area were expected to work to his advantage during the New Hampshire primary, which ended with a bitter loss for the former Massachusetts governor. 

Amid a flurry of advertising by both campaigns in a state reeling under the subprime mortgage meltdown, Romney and McCain have traded bitter attacks on each other's records, each accusing the other of showing liberal tendencies in the past.

In an acrimonious debate Thursday in California, Romney took a shot at McCain, saying: "If you get endorsed by The New York Times, you're probably not a conservative."

McCain replied: "Let me note that I was endorsed by your two hometown newspapers who know you best, including the very conservative Boston Herald, who know you better than anybody. So I'll guarantee the Arizona Republic will be endorsing me, my friend."