 McCain carried Democratic stronghold Apache County by 54–42 percent and won Hispanic votes statewide by 52–42 percent.McCain took no "soft money" during the campaign, but still raised $4.4 million for his bid, saying that he had needed it in case the tobacco companies or other Washington special interests mounted a strong effort against him.One of Ranger's campaigning points had been that McCain was really more interested in running for president; McCain indeed created a presidential exploratory committee the following month.