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'Although I've never minded the role of the underdog and have relished as much as anyone come from behind wins, tonight, I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination for president of the United States,' he told a cheering crowd in his hometown of Phoenix.
'We still have a ways to go, but we're much closer to the victory we've worked so hard to achieve. I am confident we will get there,' he said after mounting the stage to the Rocky theme song.
While Mr McCain won nine states - including the delegate-rich California, New York, Missouri and Illinois - folksy former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee swept the five states of the conservative south.
Mr McCain congratulated Mr Huckabee, who as a Baptist minister enjoys the backing of many social conservatives, on the unexpected wins.
'Not for the first time, he surprised the rest of us and proved again his exceptional skills as a campaigner and the extraordinary commitment and determination of the people who believe so passionately in him,' he said. 'I salute you. I salute Governor Huckabee.'
Rival Mitt Romney, who relentlessly attacked Mr McCain's conservative credentials, managed to win six states but was locked out of the south.
While many on the party's right now appear ready to accept Mr McCain as the best bet to beat the Democrats, others such as talk-show host Rush Limbaugh refuse to forgive him for penning strict campaign finance legislation, opposing a ban on same sex-marriage, and supporting immigration reform.
Mr McCain vowed that he would be able to unite his party and beat the Democrats to the White House in November.
'I will work hard to ensure that the conservative philosophy and principles of our great party, and the principles that have done so well by the country we love will again win the votes of the majority of the American people and defeat any candidate of the other party.'
The man who spent years in the infamous 'Hanoi Hilton' prison camp in Vietnam, and who lost to George W. Bush in the 2000 nominating race, now stands on the threshold of a November general election contest where national polls currently show him neck-and-neck with Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
Shot down as a naval aviator over North Vietnam in 1967, Mr McCain was captured by an angry mob, beaten, bayoneted in the ankle and groin, and taken prisoner.
The now-powerful Arizona senator spent five and a half years as a POW where his treatment was so brutal he still cannot raise his arms high enough to comb his hair.
Returning home to a hero's welcome at the end of the war in 1973, a battered Mr McCain resumed his military service and served as the navy's liaison to the US Senate.
He won his first race for the House of Representatives in 1982 and captured a Senate seat in 1986 where he was a tireless defender of the military.
His vehement calls for more troops in Iraq and an uncomfortable attempt to run as a big-budget establishment Republican front-runner nearly scuttled his second presidential bid in mid-2007 as the public mood soured against the war.
With his campaign coffers empty and his political obituaries being written, Mr McCain slashed his staff and returned to his maverick roots, touring New Hampshire in his old 'Straight Talk Express' bus and winning over the veteran-heavy state in a series of more than 100 town hall meetings.
The success of the surge in stemming the violence in Iraq also helped Mr McCain, who often says he would rather lose a campaign because of his firm stance than lose the war.
As he picked up crucial victories in South Carolina and Florida, he attacked his Democratic rivals for 'waiving the white flag' by promising to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Mr McCain has vowed he will not 'let Al-Qaeda tell the world they defeated the United States of America' by setting a date for withdrawal which he says is tantamount to 'surrender'. -- AFP
