Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, left, accepts the endorsement from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham on Friday Jan. 15, 2015. (Photo: FOX News)
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a foreign policy hawk, on Friday endorsed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in race for the 2016 Republican nomination. Graham, a neoconservative who until recently was a presidential candidate himself, said Bush was best-prepared to lead the military and had the most comprehensive plan to defeat the Islamic State.
I’m endorsing @JebBush for President this morning. He’s prepared to be Commander in Chief on Day 1. WATCH: https://t.co/pm7JyS44KH
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 15, 2016
“I have concluded without any hesitation, without any doubt, that Jeb Bush is ready on day one to be a commander-in-chief worthy of the sacrifices of the 1 percent who have been fighting this war,” Sen. Graham said at a press conference Friday morning.
Bush said Graham was “probably the most knowledgable person on the Hill” regarding foreign policy and national security. “His endorsement is very meaningful, and along with it come a lot of friends and supporters of his. So I’m excited about it.”
WATCH: “Jeb is going to be a nominee that can win an election that as a party we can’t afford to lose” – @GrahamBlog
https://t.co/qOAQNcdJwD
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 15, 2016
The endorsement comes the day after the sixth Republican debate hosted by Fox Business Network debate in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Bush campaign and the establishment party elites are hoping to ramp up Jeb!’s momentum right before the first in the nation primary starts voting. Bush, along with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, all are hinging their campaigns on their performance in the Granite State.
Still, in reality, it is less than clear how significant–if at all–Graham’s endorsement is, even in his own home state. Bush’s poll numbers have been abysmal in recent months and have been on the slide since frontrunner Donald Trump, who leads the field in the Palmetto State, announced his candidacy. In fact, Graham never led the prospective field on the PPD aggregate average of polls and wisely dropped out of the presidential race in December before suffering an embarrassing defeat.
