Lindsey Graham Endorses Jeb Bush

While Bush is struggling in Republican polls, Graham said the former Florida governor can revive his candidacy in SC, which hosts a pivotal Republican primary on February 20.

“Marco cut and run”, Bush said at a news conference in Graham’s SC.

By endorsing Bush, Graham passed over one of his former Senate allies on immigration reform, Sen.

Graham will endorse his former rival on Friday.

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.

Graham dropped out of the presidential last month after failing to gain traction throughout the campaign.

Graham, who has been a sharp Trump critic, said Bush’s bid to woo Latino voters was also critical in widening the reach of the Republican Party, which has not won the presidency since Bush’s brother, George W. Bush, was reelected in 2004.

“He did not talk the most, but he made the most sense”, Graham said.

Alluding to Trump and Sen. While Graham had a loyal circle of local officials and supporters around him, he barely registered in the presidential polls and wasn’t expected to fare well in his home state’s primary. While the war in Afghanistan was widely viewed as retaliation for the September 11th attacks, the 2003 U.S.-led war in Iraq received widespread condemnation as it aimed to destroy weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

The endorsement could give Bush a boost in SC, which is scheduled to hold the first-in-the-South primary on February 20th.

“Last night I heard from Jeb Bush the right answer”, Graham said with Bush at his side.

Still, Graham can be a polarizing figure in SC politics.

“When the World Trade Center came down, I saw something that no place on Earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanely than NY”, he said.

Bush hailed Graham as “the most knowledgeable person on the Hill as it related to national security, military affairs and foreign policy”.