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RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr said Monday that he would accept a spot on John McCain's presidential ticket if asked by the Arizona senator.

Burr has joined McCain on the campaign trail several times over the past year, stumping for him in places like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He and his wife were with McCain on Super Tuesday, and the two senators often discuss strategy and policy together.

Burr said McCain is focused on winning the nomination and that the two haven't discussed teaming up for the November election. But the first-term senator said he would agree to run as a vice president if McCain asked him.

"You're not going to say 'no' to a future president," Burr said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Though the two senators disagree on some policy issues, such as campaign finance reform and some aspects of illegal immigration, Burr said McCain is a true conservative with the experience to deal with the key issues facing the nation, such as the war in Iraq.

The Southerner said he's not planning on joining McCain on the ticket, adding that he doesn't expect McCain to choose a running mate until "much later in this calendar year."

"People mistake my intent, which is to get (McCain) elected, versus a belief that this is an audition," Burr said.

Should the two join forces on a ticket, Burr would provide McCain some distinct accents. McCain, who has been in Congress for 26 years, would be the nation's oldest president on inauguration day at age 72; but Burr, a fresh face on Capitol Hill, is only 52. And the North Carolina senator provides some roots in the South for McCain, who has so far lost most primaries in the region to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Burr was elected to the Senate in 2004, after spending 10 years in the House of Representatives. He serves as the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and sits on several other committees including the Senate Intelligence Committee.

He will be up for re-election in 2010.

Burr also has some vice presidential blood. He's a distant cousin of Aaron Burr, who nearly became the nation's third president before taking the vice presidency behind Thomas Jefferson.