John McCain Responds To Arizona Republican Party Censure

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday responded to the Arizona Republican Party's censure of him, saying party claims that he isn't conservative enough are "regrettable," but not detrimental.

The state GOP over the weekend approved a resolution to censure McCain, calling his record in the Senate "disastrous and harmful." The senator told Politico his poll numbers say otherwise.

“We’ve got polling data that shows overwhelming support. I’ve won every election in Arizona by very large margins, quite often with the opposition of that element of the party,” McCain said, referring to the state's far-right.

“If anything, it fires me up," he added.

According to the Arizona Republicans' resolution, McCain has leaned left on issues "associated with liberal Democrats," including Obamacare and immigration reform. McCain called the hit to his Obamacare stance "bizarre."

“I led the fight for 25 days on the floor of the Senate,” McCain told Politico.

McCain, 77, now serving his fifth term in the Senate, isn't up for reelection this year. He is considering a run for reelection in 2016.

UPDATE: 10:20 p.m. -- Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate in his 2008 Republican presidential campaign, took to Facebook to defend him, calling the censure "perplexing."