Mississippi Republican operative Henry Barbour on Tuesday endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's presidential campaign,
The Clarion-Ledger reports.
The endorsement comes one week ahead of the so-called SEC Primary of 11 states, though Mississippi does not hold its primary until March 8.
"Marco Rubio has set himself apart as the one candidate who can win in November and start implementing conservative principles that expand opportunities across our country," Barbour said. "On the issues that matter most to Mississippians: strengthening our national defense, shrinking the size of government and upholding our values, Marco Rubio is the candidate who we can count on to stand up for us in the White House."
Barbour was an adviser to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out of the race before the Iowa caucuses. His brother, Austin Barbour, ran Perry's super PAC, then joined former Gov. Jeb Bush's effort. Bush dropped out of the race on Saturday.
He is the nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Henry Barbour came under fire from tea party members in 2014 for
his role in getting black Democrats to help re-elect Sen. Thad Cochran by urging them to vote in a Republican primary runoff to help beat back a challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
As for the 2016 race, Henry Barbour said, "What we need to do now is unite behind our strongest conservative candidate who can win both the nomination and the general election. Hands down, that is Marco Rubio. He is a natural contrast to Hillary Clinton. Future vs. the Past. Inspiring vs. Tedious. Dynamic vs. Tired."
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