Grant Woods, former Arizona attorney general and chief of staff for John McCain, is contemplating running as a Democrat for the seat held for over three decades by his dear friend.
But the thing is, Woods has always been a Republican.
"I have been a Republican my whole life," Woods told 12 News in an interview Thursday. When asked if he was still a registered Republican, he answered, "I am, I am."
However, Woods said his potential run goes beyond party politics.
"I think the Republican party right now is almost completely dominated by people who are acting in their own self-interest and supporting Trump," he said.
As Woods previously told the Washington Post, what's changed for him is the passing of Sen. John McCain.
"It’s challenging for me be so involved in everything that we did to honor him over the last week and then think of staying on the sidelines as we face a world without John McCain," he told the Post.
Woods said McCain inspired him by always putting his country before his political affiliation.
"McCain supported the president when he agreed with him, and he stood up against him when he didn't, and that's what any leader should do, and that's what I would try to do," Woods told 12 News.
Woods said he never spoke with McCain about a potential Senate run, but he said McCain would want someone in his seat who shared the same principles, someone who would stand up to his own party when it came to important issues.
"This blind loyalty is ridiculous, and it's not what this country is all about," Woods said.
Woods spoke at McCain's memorial service in Phoenix, saying he hoped that what McCain stood for "will maybe get a renewed look in our country."
"When it’s all said and done, this Republican and Democrat thing is not that important is it?" Woods said as he delivered a eulogy McCain in front of thousands in attendance at the North Phoenix Baptist Church. "We’re all Americans and you got to get to the point where we can work together as Americans."
In a statement to the New York Times, which is now reporting Democrats are recruiting the former Arizona attorney general, Woods said "this country needs a major change of direction in 2020."
"I would not run as a Republican. I would either run as either a Democrat or an Independent," Woods told 12 News.
For now, Gov. Doug Ducey has appointed Arizona ex-Senator Jon Kyl to fill McCain's seat. It was an appointment that Woods said "makes perfect sense for Gov. Ducey."
"This is not a Republican seat. It is Arizona's seat, and I look forward to seeing John McCain's philosophy of Country First exhibited every day," Woods said.
Kyl was sworn in Wednesday for his second tour as Arizona's senator, but the man who served nearly two decades alongside John McCain in the U.S. Senate said he's only committed to serving out the current session of Congress—leaving the door wide open for Woods' run in 2020, if he so chooses.