Former Congressman Napier Endorses 'Bold' Gingrich

The Newt Gingrich campaign simultaneously announced Thursday an endorsement from former Congressman John Napier, who joins the campaign as South Carolina's co-chair, and released a new ad titled "Timid vs. Bold" — a jab at the candidate's GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney.

Napier, who was not reelected in 1983, served as chair of the Reagan-Bush campaign in South Carolina in 1984, in addition to being the co-chair of Gov. Carroll Campbell's reelection campaign.

"I've studied all the candidates in the race and Newt Gingrich is the right one for the job. I participated first-hand with Newt as he was an up and coming leader in the Congress and personally attest to the strong leadership part he played in crafting and passing the Reagan economic recovery a generation ago," Napier said in a campaign statement. 

Napier compared the candidate to President Ronald Reagan. 

Thursday's new ad plays off of a Wall Street Journal statement calling Romney "surprisingly timid." 

View the video attached to this story to see the ad.

In the statement, the campaign alleges that despite campaigning for five years in Iowa and out-spending most other candidates, Romney managed to barely eke out a victory in the state. 

According to The Atlantic, Gingrich spent $89.84 per vote in Iowa, coming in fourth behind Texas Gov. Rick Perry ($478.40), Romney ($154.90) and Texas Congressman Ron Paul ($103.30).