Fred Thompson has "foreign policy experience"? Where? When?
COLUMBIA --- It doesn't matter to state Rep. David Hiott's colleagues in the South Carolina Legislature that he's an avowed Fred Thompson supporter -- his phone keeps ringing with pleas for him to get ready to jump ship.
"My friends in the Legislature who are on the other side have all contacted me," said Mr. Hiott, a Pickens Republican and a county chairman for Mr. Thompson's presidential bid. "They like to say, 'As soon as he gets out, we need you on our side.' And I always like to say, 'I'm with him until the bitter end.' "
Mr. Hiott and other Thompson supporters in this early voting state say Statehouse colleagues have been trying for months to snare their support for other Republican candidates. But they're sticking with the former Tennessee senator and actor, citing his conservative credentials and foreign policy experience they believe will gain traction before the state's Republicans head to the polls Jan. 19.
"A day doesn't go by where I don't hear from someone," said state Sen. Ray Cleary, a regional chairman for Mr. Thompson's South Carolina campaign who announced his support before Mr. Thompson had officially announced his intent to run.
Mr. Thompson, who finished in a virtual third place tie with Arizona Sen. John McCain in Iowa, has single-digit poll numbers heading into today's New Hampshire primaries, according to a new USA Today /Gallup poll. On Sunday, Mr. Thompson announced that he would skip the final days of campaigning in New Hampshire in favor of launching an 11-day bus tour across South Carolina, and some of his supporters think it's just the push his campaign needs.
"Once folks see him and hear his message, they like him, and they'll throw their support behind him," said state Sen. Larry Grooms, another regional campaign chairman. "He has not been visible in this state."
The bus tour strategy worked well for Mr. Thompson in Iowa, where he finished ahead of the fourth- or fifth-place slot that had been predicted, said Mr. Thompson campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky. A good finish in South Carolina, Mr. Sadosky said, could help propel Mr. Thompson into Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, when voters in more than 20 states go to the polls.
"It's going to be important, and I think the focus that we're giving to South Carolina is a good tell of just how important it is to us," Mr. Sadosky said.
Recent polls in South Carolina show former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee leading in South Carolina, with Mr. Thompson's support tough to read. In one survey, he placed second; in two others, he placed fourth and fifth.
Mr. Sadosky declined to speculate how high Mr. Thompson would need to finish in South Carolina to remain viable as the campaign continues.
Political analysts said that with a less-than-stellar showing in New Hampshire, Mr. Thompson's efforts in South Carolina become even more critical if he expects to stay in the race through Super Tuesday.
"He may have enough money that it's not his final firewall, but a mediocre showing in New Hampshire, which leads to a mediocre to poor showing in South Carolina, could easily be the beginning of the end without a huge influx of cash," said Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon.
Longtime supporter Mr. Grooms agreed.
"If he does not do well here, it's pretty much over," he said.
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