COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is backing Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in the Republican’s so-far unannounced bid to become South Carolina’s next governor.
Bauer’s camp released a statement Tuesday on Huckabee’s support.
Huckabee narrowly lost South Carolina’s 2008 presidential primary contest to John McCain. Huckabee garnered 30 percent of the vote, to the Arizona senator’s 33 percent.
Bauer has opened a campaign account and begun raising money. He’s not expected to formally announce his bid until early next year.
Bauer had offered to stay out of the race if he became the state’s top official by the end of October because Gov. Mark Sanford resigned, or legislators removed him, in the fallout from his affair with an Argentine woman and ethics investigations.