The member of Congress known for yelling "you lie!" at President Obama is endorsing the presidential candidate who says he will "tell the truth."
South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who became famous in 2009 after yelling out during the president's health care address to Congress, is endorsing former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the Pawlenty campaign announced Tuesday. Wilson will also serve as Pawlenty's co-chair in South Carolina, one of the four early primary states.
Wilson, who is popular among conservatives in his state, will help bolster Pawlenty's Tea Party credentials there. Pawlenty's Freedom First political committee gave Wilson $2,000 in the 2010 campaign, and he cut an endorsement video for Wilson.
"Governor Pawlenty is the best man to get our nation back on the right track," Wilson said in a statement released by the campaign. "As South Carolinians get to know Governor Pawlenty, as I have, they will see someone with a remarkable record of conservative accomplishments in a politically tough state for Republicans, and someone who has the kind of bold vision for America's future that we need to defeat Barack Obama."
Wilson is the first member of Congress outside Minnesota to endorse the former Minnesota governor.
Wilson's Pawlenty endorsement is also a bit of a swipe at another Minnesotan considering running for president, Rep. Michele Bachmann. Wilson was an original member of Bachmann's House Tea Party Caucus. When he introduced Bachmann in South Carolina earlier this year, he called her "one of the most courageous conservatives" in Washington.
Pawlenty is currently in the back of the pack in South Carolina, polling in seventh at 4 percent. Romney leads with 27 percent and Bachmann is in fifth with 9 percent.
