WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge said Wednesday he would support Sen. John McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination and has signed onto the Arizonan's campaign as a national co-chair.

Ridge, who also served as the nation's first head of the Department of Homeland Security, told CNN in an interview that while he has other "friends" running for the GOP nomination such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani he is backing McCain based on his "personal experience and relationship with somebody who I admire."

"I worked with him a lot," Ridge said of McCain. "I respect and admire his courage, his candor, his character, and I think as we look to 2008, he's an individual who will be prepared to lead on day one, and so it's pretty easy for me to support him because I think he'd be a terrific president."

McCain launched his presidential exploratory committee last November. He has yet to formally announce a run for the White House.

Watch Ridge comments on McCain

-- CNN's Katie Ross

Posted 2/28/2007 12:06:00 PM | Permalink