Trey Gowdy to Endorse, Campaign with Marco Rubio in Iowa Next Week

South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, the chair of the House select committee on Benghazi and well-respected conservative, will campaign with and endorse Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. PPD has confirmed Gowdy will appear with Rubio next week in Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday during a three-day swing through eastern and central Iowa.

“Marco is a rock solid conservative and a strong leader we can trust,” Rep. Gowdy said in a statement. “I look forward to campaigning with him, and introducing my good friend to voters across the state.”

The stops include Burlington, Clinton, and Waterloo. However, it is on February 20, 20016 in Gowdy’s home state of South Carolina where Rubio will likely face a reckoning or path to victory. He put built an organization in preparation for a firewall ahead of his own state’s primary on March 15, 2016, and will need momentum in case his showing is weaker-than-expected or needed in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Currently, Rubio is running a distant third in the Hawkeye State behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, recently overtaking Dr. Ben Carson on the average for third place. In New Hampshire, a more moderate state widely believed to be a near or must-win state for Rubio, he is running Trump by over 16 points and is tied with Cruz at 12 percent of the vote in the PPD average of polls.

Chairman Gowdy campaigned for Rubio at a rally in South Carolina last week. Further, Rubio’s campaign manager, Terry Sullivan, worked as a consultant on Gowdy’s 2010 House race. Whether the endorsement is an sign of approval for Rubio’s neoconservative views or a favor that is now being cashed in remains unclear.