Megadeth's Dave Mustaine Denies Endorsing Rick Santorum for President

Earlier this week, we reported on a new interview with Dave Mustaine in which he weighed in on the presidential race in 2012, saying, "I'm just hoping that whatever is in the White House next year is a Republican."

Mustaine then went through the major candidates, giving his opinion on each. Seemingly, the guitarist looked most favorably upon Rick Santorum, and a variety of media outlets took this as an official endorsement.

Now, Mustaine has issued a statement rebuking these reports, saying, "Contrary to how some people have interpreted my words, I have not endorsed any presidential candidate. What I did say was that I hope to see a Republican in the White House. I’ve seen good qualities in all the candidates but by no means have made my choice yet. I respect the fact that Santorum took time off from his campaign to be with his sick daughter, but I never used the word ‘endorse.’”

You can read Mustaine's original statement here.

Josh Hart

Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.