WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain will officially enter the presidential race — his second run after a bitter loss to George W. Bush in 2000 — with a formal announcement in early April.

The Arizona senator disclosed the timing of the long-expected announcement in a taping for the "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS for airing Wednesday night.

"I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States," the senator told the talk show host — and then added he would give a formal speech to that effect in early April.

There was no doubt that McCain would eventually become a full-fledged White House candidate, and he had been expected to make his candidacy official in the spring.

McCain is visiting Utah today and tomorrow. He is scheduled to hold a fund-raiser at the Salt Lake home of David Simmons and meet with business leaders in Deer Valley.