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.

Thompson said in a prepared statement: “You just don’t get much more conservative than Gresham Barrett. He’s a freedom fighter who can get things done for South Carolina. As governor, Gresham will work to establish a climate for commerce that creates opportunities for all of the state’s citizens by scrapping the state’s antiquated tax code, reducing discretionary spending, restructuring the Department of Commerce, ensuring employers have access to a highly skilled and well-educated workforce, and aggressively recruiting new businesses to South Carolina.”

“South Carolina is facing unprecedented economic hardship. More than
270,000 people are out of work, and Washington is only making matters
worse. The Democrat regime in charge seems to have abandoned the
time-tested principles that made this country great: individual freedom, a
strong free-market system, low taxes, a basic belief in the power of
American entrepreneurism, and a respect for the values that strengthen our
families and our communities. Well, I haven’t lost faith in America or
her citizens, and neither has Gresham Barrett.

“These are serious times that require serious action. And make no
mistake, it’s up to us. I’ve heard Gresham say a hundred times, ‘If
we are going to take this nation back, then we are going to do it one state
at a time, and it starts right here in South Carolina.’ He couldn’t be
more right.

“The time is now. We need to unite behind conservatives we can believe
in – principled conservatives who defend our common sense values at every
turn, and who aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe. We need to
get behind leaders who will make a difference – leaders like Gresham
Barrett.

“A lot of folks talk about being a conservative. But what sets Gresham
Barrett apart from the rest is that he’s got the record to back up the
rhetoric. You don’t just have to take my word for it. It seems like every
conservative grassroots organization in the country has something nice to
say about Gresham.”

Barrett holds a lifetime score of 98% from the American Conservative Union
and is the most conservative Congressman from South Carolina according to
National Journal magazine. For his defense of traditional values, Barrett earned the Family Research Council’s True Blue Award. Additionally, the Club for Growth recognized Barrett’s commitment to free market principles naming him a “Defender of Economic Freedom.”

Senator Thompson added, “You just don’t get much more conservative
than Gresham Barrett. He’s a freedom fighter who can get things done for
South Carolina. As Governor, Gresham will work to establish a climate for
commerce that creates opportunities for all of the state’s citizens by
scrapping the state’s antiquated tax code, reducing discretionary
spending, restructuring the Department of Commerce, ensuring employers have access to a highly skilled and well-educated workforce, and aggressively
recruiting new businesses to South Carolina.

“It boils down to this: Gresham Barrett is the candidate with the best
ideas and the right experience to lead an economic turnaround in South
Carolina, and I am honored to support him.”

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