Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul picked up an endorsement from popular South Carolina State Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) Sunday.
Mr. Davis is a popular Tea Party Republican in South Carolina, and he has been critical of front running Republican candidate Mitt Romney also, so his vote could sway some last minute undecided voters towards Mr. Paul in the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary election.
According to the Public Polling Policy poll of South Carolina voters released Friday shows 30 percent of the voters identify themselves as members of the Tea Party. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich did the best among that group though, finishing with 40 percent of Tea Party voters, rival candidate Rick Santorum came in second among Tea Party voters.
Mr. Paul’s popular campaign rhetoric regarding a smaller strict constitutional government is similar to the Tea Party ideology as described in the mission statement on Tea Party of America’s website, which features a quote from Thomas Jefferson regarding government.
“Ron Paul has cast thousands of lonely votes in our nation’s capital based on the constitutional principles that this country was founded on – and that the Republican Party has promised to protect,” said Mr. Davis in a statement Sunday. ”Yet while generations of politicians – including far too many Republicans – were losing their way or caving to the status quo, Ron Paul was standing as a Tea Party of one against a towering wave of red ink.”
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum recently spoke about how big an endorsement from Senator Davis would be for his campaign. Recent polls indicate Mr. Santorum is fighting for third place in South Carolina, hoping that the large presence of evangelical Christian voters in the Palmetto state will help him to a top tier finish.
Although recent polls indicate that Mr. Paul is likely to finish third behind Mr. Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Mr. Davis’s comments slamming Mr. Romney in a Facebook post earlier this month could also help him to a better finish.
“He supported interventionist policies in lending, TARP and ethanol subsidies, and he seems to support currency manipulation instead of sound money. Do we really know what we would get with a President Romney?” said Mr. Davis on his Facebook account.
Mr. Davis’s endorsement of Mr. Paul though is sure to bolster support for him. The Texas congressman has largely stayed out of the back and forth fight between rival candidates Mr. Gingrich and Mr.Romney that dominated the campaign trail in South Carolina last week.
In recent polls he continues to do well with independent voters in South Carolina, although their presence in South Carolina isn’t is big as it was in New Hampshire which helped Mr. Paul to a second place finish there.
“We’re excited and grateful to have Sen. Davis’s endorsement, as it carries tremendous weight in South Carolina,” said Jesse Benton, a national campaign spokesman for Mr. Paul in a statement Sunday.
