John McCain

John McCain, a U.S. Senator from Arizona, is the presumptive 2008 Republican nominee for president. He was first elected to Congress in 1982, entering politics after a career in the U.S. Navy, during which he was captured and held as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. He was elected to the Senate in 1986 and previously ran for President in 2000, but lost the Republican nomination to Texas governor George W. Bush.

McCain has a history of breaking with the Republican party on certain issues, including campaign financing and torture, earning him a reputation as a maverick within his party. He is the ranking Republican on the armed services committee in the Senate and is known for his strong stances on foreign relations issues.

In 2000, McCain had several lymph nodes in his cheek and neck removed after discovering he had skin cancer. The surgery left him permanently scarred on the left side of his face.

McCain is married to Cindy McCain, chairman of one of the country's largest beer distributors. He has seven children.

—By Kate Pickert