Rand Paul lands first endorsement from SC rep

Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) is endorsing Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for president in 2016, becoming the first member of the South Carolina delegation to endorse a candidate.

Mulvaney, a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who frequently breaks with GOP leaders, said Paul has demonstrated a willingness to buck the status quo.

“Rand has proven himself as a conservative outsider unafraid to take on the Washington establishment,” Mulvaney said in a statement. “Rand is exactly the kind of leader we need in the White House.”

{mosads}Mulvaney’s endorsement gives Paul a boost in an important early primary state. The senator will embark on an “endorsement” tour with Mulvaney in Rock Hill, Columbia and Spartanburg on Wednesday.

Paul currently ranks in 11th place in the South Carolina GOP primary, with a polling average of 2.3 percent.

Recent polling shows Donald Trump leading the pack in South Carolina, with more than a third of the primary vote.

Paul, in a joint statement, said he and Mulvaney have become “personal friends” since they both first won election in 2010.

“I admire his conservative leadership in the House of Representatives and together, I know we can defeat the Washington Machine by restoring fiscal sanity, the Bill of Rights, and regulatory restraint,” Paul said.

Mulvaney is the 10th Republican member of Congress to endorse Paul, joining Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Andy Barr (Ky.), Curt Clawson (Fla.), Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Raúl Labrador (Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.). Amash and Labrador are also founding members of the House Freedom Caucus.