Rumor: McCain apoyará a Romney después de Iowa y antes de NH

The Hill:

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee in 2008, is moving toward endorsing a candidate for 2012.

Republican sources familiar with his thinking say he will probably endorse his onetime political enemy, Mitt Romney.

There is virtually no chance, sources say, that he will pick former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who has surged into the lead in polls, stoking consternation among his ex-colleagues on Capitol Hill.

Asked Tuesday if he might back a candidate in the GOP primary, McCain told The Hill, “Yeah, I think it would be several months later on.”

(...) A McCain endorsement would probably come after the caucuses in Iowa, where polls show Romney is trailing. The primary in New Hampshire, a state fond of McCain, soon follows Iowa’s vote.

McCain won New Hampshire in the 2000 and 2008 GOP primaries, and his endorsement would give Romney a major boost in what is a must-win state for the former governor. It would also be helpful in South Carolina, where McCain is popular among GOP voters who favor a strong national defense.