Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced he was backing GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney Friday, saying his support could help Romney win Saturday's hotly-contested South Carolina primary.
"I'm a Southern governor endorsing Mitt Romney in the first Southern state primary," McDonnell said on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien."
"The governor of South Carolina has endorsed him as well. I think hopefully that will help him some. He's the one that's been consistent. Other candidates have been up and down. He is the consistent, results-oriented conservative who has the best record and the best message on jobs and on cutting spending," McDonnell said.
Romney's campaign said McDonnell would campaign with Romney in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's first-in-the-South primary, including a stop Friday in Charleston.
McDonnell, considered a rising Republican star, has served as governor of Virginia since 2010, and also acts as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He is seen by many as a potential vice presidential pick for the eventual GOP nominee.
The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.
In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was "likely to be the next president of the United States."
Indeed, the winner of the state's primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.
A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country's costliest in which to campaign.
If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina - as senior aides conceded he might - it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.
Romney sounded anything but confident as he told reporters that in South Carolina, "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well known, popular ... and frankly to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."
"I'm a Southern governor endorsing Mitt Romney in the first Southern state primary," McDonnell said on CNN's "Starting Point with Soledad O'Brien."
"The governor of South Carolina has endorsed him as well. I think hopefully that will help him some. He's the one that's been consistent. Other candidates have been up and down. He is the consistent, results-oriented conservative who has the best record and the best message on jobs and on cutting spending," McDonnell said.
Romney's campaign said McDonnell would campaign with Romney in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's first-in-the-South primary, including a stop Friday in Charleston.
McDonnell, considered a rising Republican star, has served as governor of Virginia since 2010, and also acts as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He is seen by many as a potential vice presidential pick for the eventual GOP nominee.
The stakes were high as Republicans sought a challenger to Democratic President Barack Obama. Television advertising by the candidates and their supporters exceeded $10 million here, much of it spent in the past two weeks, and mailboxes were stuffed with campaign flyers.
In a bit of home-state boosterism, DeMint said the primary winner was "likely to be the next president of the United States."
Indeed, the winner of the state's primary has gone on to capture the Republican nomination each year since 1980.
A victory by Romney would place him in a commanding position heading into the Florida primary on Jan. 31. He and an organization supporting him are already airing television ads in that state, which is one of the country's costliest in which to campaign.
If the former Massachusetts governor stumbles in South Carolina - as senior aides conceded he might - it could portend a long, drawn-out battle for the nomination stretching well into spring and further expose rifts inside the party between those who want a candidate who can defeat Obama more than anything else, and those whose strong preference is for a solid conservative.
Romney sounded anything but confident as he told reporters that in South Carolina, "I realize that I had a lot of ground to make up and Speaker Gingrich is from a neighboring state, well known, popular ... and frankly to be in a neck-and-neck race at this last moment is kind of exciting."
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