Todd Palin, the husband of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, offered his endorsement of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday, saying the Georgia Republican will “break the status quo in Washington.”
This is “a tremendous boost from an influential conservative that will help advance Newt’s case in NH as a Reagan conservative,” Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told Fox News. “It’s evidence that those who want to break up the status quo in Washington are putting their support behind Newt Gingrich.”
Mr. Palin said he has not spoken to Gingrich or anyone from the former House speaker’s campaign. But he said he respects Mr. Gingrich for what he went through in the 1990s and compared that scrutiny in public life to what Sarah Palin went through during her run for the vice presidency. He added that he believes that being in the political trenches and experiencing the highs and lows helps prepare a candidate for the future and the job of president.
He did not criticize any of the other candidates and said his “hat is off to everyone” in the Republican race.
It remains unclear whether Ms. Palin, who announced last year that she would not seek the Republican presidential nomination, will follow in her husband footsteps. Ms. Palin hinted, earlier this year, that she remains interested in entering the 2012 contest, however, the passage of recent filing deadlines make the possibility of Palin presidency highly unlikely.
Mr. Palin’s endorsement comes as recent polls show Mr. Gingrich far behind the rest of the Republican field. The former House speaker trails former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, and polls show Mr. Gingrich in third place in South Carolina.
