Newt to get several South Carolina tea party endorsements in the coming days

From Peter Hamby of CNN:

Sensing opportunity in a state with a vibrant tea party movement, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is beefing up his campaign presence in South Carolina.

Gingrich's national Coalitions Director, Adam Waldeck, is re-locating to Columbia to run political operations in the first-in-the-south primary state.

The Gingrich campaign is also planning to roll out several tea party endorsements in the Charleston area in the coming days. One prominent tea party leader in the state, Columbia activist Allen Olsen, endorsed Gingrich in September.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said the campaign is building "a grassroots firewall" in South Carolina, a state that could be friendly to Gingrich given his roots in nearby Georgia.