Lindsey Graham of SC, formally endorsed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for the Republican presidential nomination on Friday.
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Graham’s decision could be significant in swaying not only South Carolina Republican voters but also his good friend Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who remains an influential figure in the party and who has spoken warmly about Bush in recent months.
“Last night, [Bush] demonstrated somebody who, in my view, is ready on day one to be commander in chief”, Graham said.
Graham had been running for the GOP presidential nomination, but bowed out of the race back in December after struggling in the polls.
While his endorsement could be meaningful in influencing the SC primaries, it won’t matter if, as Bush’s donors hope, he drops out after New Hampshire. Gov. Jeb Bush, was asked if he had considered supporting Rubio.
Stung by a series of ads against him from the Bush campaign and the SuperPAC that supports Bush, Rubio released a TV ad on Friday, calling Bush desperate. That’s according to aggregate polling data from Real Clear Politics. After all, we will be told, the Palmetto State has always been the “firewall” for Republican Establishment candidates who got into trouble in Iowa or New Hampshire.
The endorsement will come during a Friday news conference in North Charleston, S.C.
“Lindsey Graham is by far and away recognized as not the most, the strongest policy oriented national defense senator, not just a senator, but most consistent support of strong national defense, period over and out”, he said. “I blame Obama for ISIL, not Bush”, Graham yelled.
The former governor says Obama leaves behind a legacy of “leading from behind”, one he claims the current Democratic front-runner and President Obama’s former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, will inevitably continue. Many national polls showed him with less than 1 percent support.
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“In Iowa, it’s a question of organization. I’m making great progress in those states, and we have the best campaign in Nevada”, he said. In South Carolina, a great organization matters.
