PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Grant Woods? The former Republican attorney general said he is doing everything in order to make the decision to run for federal office in 2020 — including switch his party affiliation to Democrat.

In an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes, Woods said he is “certainly doing everything to make that decision.”

“I had to do first things first. I was already talking to people and doing things and then we needed to see how the elections came out. I figured that would be on Tuesday night — it wasn’t, it took another almost week,” he said on Thursday.

Woods said he was waiting to see how the race between Democrat — and now Senator-elect — Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally turned out before deciding his political future.

Woods endorsed Sinema in her bid for Senate — “They started their campaign with an ad of me and they ended with a different ad of me” — as well as Democrat Hiral Tipirneni in her bid for the Congressional District 8 seat. He has also been mulling a Senate run as an independent since his friend, Sen. John McCain, died of brain cancer in July.

But Woods did not decide to switch his own affiliation until after the Nov. 6 election, when Democrats saw huge gains in the U.S. House and other state legislatures around the country.

Although he has changed his party to be a Democrat, Woods said he has not changed his views on issues.

“I’ve always been a more moderate Republican, for sure, but my views have not changed,” he said. “The Republican party changed, that’s what changed.”

Woods said the party is now the party of President Donald Trump, “and I want no part of that.”

“Most Republican leaders have gone lockstep with Trump. They’re condoning behavior that they never would have in the past. It’s an attack on American institutions that they used to say they were for and now apparently they don’t care.”

If Woods does run in 2020, he would run for the seat currently held by Sen. Jon Kyl, who was appointed to the position after McCain died.

Kyl has only committed to serving until January. If he does step down, Gov. Doug Ducey would have to appoint another Republican to fill the position until 2020, when voters would decide in a special election who fills the remainder of McCain’s seat through 2022. Then the seat will be up again for a full six-year term.

Follow @KTAR923