First off, the cybersquatting laws only apply to domain names in which a third party owns trademark rights. Does John McCain own trademark rights in his own name? That depends. Has he used the name in commerce as an identifier of source? Being a Senator or running for Congress is not use in commerce. Has he written a book? Does he have a line of JOHN MCCAIN clothing or salad dressing? If not, chances are, John McCain lacks trademark rights in his name. I have not looked into whether John McCain actually has trademark rights in his name and have no opinion on the matter.
That said, there is another provision of the ACPA that may apply: "Any person who registers a domain name that consists of the name of another living person, or a name substantially and confusingly similar thereto, without that person's consent, with the specific intent to profit from such name by selling the domain name for financial gain to that person or any third party, shall be liable in a civil action by such person." New York has a similar provision with greater damages. The statute is ambiguous enough to potentially cover domain names that are less than the full name of a living person, including a politician. Thus, as in all things ACPA, the inquiry boils down to the intent of the person registering the domain names. If you want to register a political name domain name to put up a website to support a candidate, or even to criticize a candidate, you are probably okay, but even then, public figures have filed meritless actions to acquire legitimately-held domain names. If, however, there were some indication that the domain names were held for possible sale to the politician, there could be substantial liability -- up to $100,000 per domain under the ACPA or up to $1,000 per day for those subject to New York's law.
