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Seattle, WA – One day after his chief rival for the GOP nomination dropped out, Sen. John McCain said among his priorities is now unifying a divided Republican party.

“We are very aware that there is some unification of the party that has to take place,” McCain said during a media availability on his plane Friday.

While the presumptive GOP nominee said he will continue his effort to outreach to party conservatives, some of whom remain skeptical about his record and credentials, McCain said he will not limit his message to the right in the coming months.

“I am trying to appeal to everyone in the party. I recognize that it is going to take a united and energized Republican party, all aspects of it, if we are going to have a chance to win the election in November,” he said, adding he also will look to attract “liberal Republicans” who supported Rudy Giuliani and even anti-war Republicans. “The formula for success in most campaigns is your base, independents and Reagan Democrats.”

McCain said he is looking to meet with Mitt Romney in the next week to discuss ways to help unite the party, noting that his former rival received more than 4 million votes in the early primary states. The Arizona senator also said he understood that it will take weeks, if not months before the party can regroup–based on his memories from his failed 2000 bid for the nomination.”

“After 2000, there were many McCainiacs that were very angry and bitter…a lot of people were bitter because when you invest your hard work and your effort and your passion to a candidate, you understand that there is a period there where you got to unify people and get them to recognize what the major goal is,” McCain said. “Primaries are tough. Primaries in some ways, as you well know, are tougher emotionally than a general election because of the nature of them and the personalization.”