--- description: John McCain said Thursday that he believes Republicans can defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016, but only if they pass immigration reform. title: McCain to GOP: If You Want to Beat Hillary, Pass Immigration Reform image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629cdb36851f931d/69869c3fe53abac68f4d3a03/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # McCain to GOP: If You Want to Beat Hillary, Pass Immigration Reform ## Video: Obama Fires Back Over Border Crisis [Watch (HLS stream): Obama Fires Back Over Border Crisis](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YVsH9Sf8.m3u8) (2:09)  _Published 2014-07-10. Obama is firing back after harsh criticism on immigration issues_ by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 1:36 AM CUT  Senator John McCain speaks to the media after leaving the Senate floor in Washington on Feb. 12, 2014. Senator John McCain speaks to the media after leaving the Senate floor in Washington on Feb. 12, 2014.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 1:36 AM CUT Arizona Sen. John McCain said Thursday that he believes Republicans can defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, but only if they pass immigration reform. “She’s the odds-on favorite right now,” McCain said of Clinton at the “Politics on Tap” event hosted by CNN and National Journal. “But I think we have a long list of people who could defeat Hillary Clinton.” McCain suggested New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich by name as potential Clinton vanquishers. “We’ve got some very successful governors that have done very well in their states that I think once exposed to the American people could be very competitive.” McCain noted that Clinton’s poll numbers have dropped over the recent controversy over her wealth and her speaking fees, but said that could all be for naught if the Republican Party doesn’t enact immigration reform. “I expect it to be very competitive,” McCain said, “except if we don’t enact some kind of comprehensive immigration reform, I do not see a way for us to really win a general election.” Pressed on the lingering House Republican opposition to taking up immigration reform, McCain said he will continue to “hope and pray and work” to make them reconsider. Passing immigration reform was the sole policy recommendation of the 2013 Republican Party autopsy into its 2012 rout, but the House Republican conference has repeatedly blocked any action on the measure since the Senate passed a reform bill last year. “Hopefully my colleagues in the House will realize the same demographics that I am referring to and that they will at least in some way bring up immigration reform, whether it’s piecemeal, whether it’s one-at-a-time,” he said. “I think as the 2016 campaign gets closer that my colleagues will recognize … that we are marginalizing the Republican Party,” McCain added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/"},"headline":"McCain to GOP: If You Want to Beat Hillary, Pass Immigration Reform","datePublished":"2014-07-18T01:36:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:13:12.604Z","description":"'We are marginalizing the Republican Party'","url":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Immigration","John McCain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629cdb36851f931d/69869c3fe53abac68f4d3a03/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt629cdb36851f931d/69869c3fe53abac68f4d3a03/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Clears U.S. Debt-Limit Suspension For Obama's Signature","caption":"Senate Clears U.S. Debt-Limit Suspension For Obama's Signature","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/","name":"McCain to GOP: If You Want to Beat Hillary, Pass Immigration Reform"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama Fires Back Over Border Crisis","description":"Obama is firing back after harsh criticism on immigration issues","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/YVsH9Sf8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-10T13:03:13.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YVsH9Sf8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/","duration":"PT2M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```