Announcing his endorsement of Governor Romney today, Lieutenant Governor Bolling said, "I have carefully considered all of the Republican candidates for President in 2008. While they are all good men, I believe that Mitt Romney is the best candidate to carry the Republican banner in the 2008 presidential campaign."

"Mitt Romney also has the right vision for the future of our country. We can trust him to keep America safe at home by defeating the Jihadists abroad; and keep America strong by reigning in government spending, keeping taxes low, protecting the values we believe in, and confronting head on the new generation of challenges currently facing our nation," Bolling continued.

Background On Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling:

In 2005, Bill Bolling Was Elected To Serve As The 40th Lieutenant Governor Of Virginia. In a year that favored Democrats, Bolling received more votes that any other Republican candidate for statewide office. He is widely recognized as one of Virginia's most effective conservative leaders. Prior to his election as Lieutenant Governor, Bolling served for ten years in the Virginia State Senate. He also has experience in local government, serving as Chairman of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors prior to his election to the Senate. Nationally, Bolling serves as Chairman of the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Lieutenant Governors Association.

It was not two months ago that Fred Thompson tantalized a crowd of more than 400 Virginia Republicans at a state GOP party fundraiser in Richmond, laying out his conservative principles for the first time after making his first official filing toward a presidential campaign. "Folks, we're a bit down politically right now, but I think we're on the comeback trail, and it's going to start right here," rumbled the actor and former Tennessee senator, to loud applause. For good measure, he threw in some Southern quips and references, to remind the crowd that he, unlike the other leading GOP candidates, hailed from Dixie. At that moment, the support of Virginia Republicans seemed his for the taking.

It hasn't exactly worked out that way for Thompson in the state, a letdown that could be seen as emblematic of Thompson's troubles in taking flight nationally. This morning, the state's top ranking Republican elected official, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, will endorse Mitt Romney at a press conference in Richmond The endorsement is a coup for the former Massachusetts governor, who is eager to show that he is viable in the South despite languishing in the polls in South Carolina, where the first Southern primary votes will be cast. Tonight, Romney heads over to Virginia Beach for a fundraising dinner. As notable as the endorsement, perhaps, is that Romney's fundraising in Virginia did not fall off a cliff with Thompson's entrance onto the stage -- Romney collected $308,000 in the state in the quarter ending June 30, compared with about $466,000 in the first quarter, a dropoff more or less in line with Romney's fundraising pace nationally over the first half of the year. Likewise, Rudy Giuliani collected $300,000 in the state in the second quarter, on top of about $438,000 in the first quarter.