By Rudolph Bell
An endorsement from Fred Thompson, the former senator, presidential candidate and actor, could help U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett with one of his biggest challenges in running for governor — lack of name recognition in some parts of the state.
Danielle Vinson, a professor of political science at Furman University, said the nod of approval from the well-known Tennessee conservative should give Barrett a short-term boost in positive public exposure.
“It gets him some attention from the media, and it helps voters who are paying attention make a connection to Barrett that may help them remember who he is,” Vinson said.
In endorsing the congressman from Westminster, Thompson was returning a favor. Barrett endorsed Thompson when he ran for president in 2008 and desperately needed a good showing in the South Carolina primary.
As it turned out, Thompson came in a distant third in the first-in-the-South primary and dropped out of the race.
In a statement, Thompson called Barrett a “freedom fighter who can get things done for South Carolina.”
“You just don’t get much more conservative than Gresham Barrett,” Thompson said.
Scott Huffmon, a professor of political science at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, said endorsements rarely push campaigns to victory.
“Fred Thompson is liked in South Carolina, but his presidential primary bid failed to generate a lot of excitement among the conservative base here,” Huffmon said.
In a recent poll by Winthrop University, 64 percent of South Carolina Republicans surveyed said they weren’t familiar enough with Barrett to have an opinion of him.
Slightly more than 48 percent said that about Attorney General Henry McMaster, another Republican running for governor.
Twenty-eight percent said it about Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, another Republican who has yet to formally announce a campaign, though he’s been appearing in gubernatorial debates.
The poll showed state Rep. Nikki Haley of Lexington with the least name recognition of all Republican gubernatorial candidates. More than 80 percent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about her to have an opinion.
