Getty Bush, Clinton tap family to boost campaigns America's struggling political families put their former presidents on the trail to secure a win in South Carolina.

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are about to share another title — surrogate-in-chief.

The two former presidents are hitting the campaign trail in South Carolina, hoping to make a difference for their family members’ flailing campaigns in this critical 2016 battleground state.


“It is unprecedented and sort of shows you what’s at stake in this election,” said Jaime Harrison, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “I think everybody is pulling out all the stops. Forgive the pun — using all of their ‘Trump’ cards.”

While both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have strong ties to South Carolina, the strategy doesn’t come without risks. W. hasn’t been on the campaign trail in more than a decade, and his war policies remain the baggage helping to drag down his brother’s campaign. GOP front-runner Donald Trump took several swipes at Bush’s record on national security during Saturday’s Republican debate.

At the same time, Bill Clinton’s infamous defense of his family’s civil rights legacy in Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid left her hobbled in the contest against Barack Obama as racial tensions surfaced in South Carolina.

More recently in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton went on the attack against Bernie Sanders — to mixed reviews. Just days before Hillary Clinton was defeated by the Vermont senator, the former president described his wife’s 2016 rival as “the champion of all things small and the enemy of all things big.”

Still, the Bush and Clinton camps both see their presidential surrogates as critical to convincing voters that these establishment families have the background and experience their rivals cannot offer.

Trump is carrying a significant lead in the polls in the state. A CBS News Battleground Tracker puts Bush at 6 percent behind Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich. In the same poll, Clinton maintains an edge over Bernie Sanders with 59 percent support among likely Democratic voters.

The decision to use their presidential backers is a striking contrast to their political opponents. Trump hasn't tapped any veteran party surrogates in South Carolina, and Rubio has worked hard to engage a younger generation of politicians, using South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy as his top stand-ins there.

George W. Bush makes his first campaign appearance Monday night in North Charleston. The Bush campaign’s hope is that the former president can help galvanize national security voters because the Palmetto State is home to a number of military installations and colleges. Bush has already headlined several fundraisers for his brother, but this is one of the first times he has publicly been on the stump since leaving the Oval Office in 2009.

Bill Clinton, on the other hand, has kept up a very busy campaign schedule over the past two election cycles. In 2014, he did 76 events in 26 states for 60 candidates and in this presidential cycle, he has been in South Carolina three times in the past month with two rallies in Columbia and Florence.

Minyon Moore, who leads Dewey Square’s state and local practice, said Bill Clinton “provides texture to her that none of us would be able to give” when he campaigns for his wife.

“Politics is really personal in the truest sense in the word. If nothing else, he gives the average American person a glimpse into a person that just happens to be his wife,” Moore said.

Clinton’s South Carolina state director, Clay Middleton, said the former president is discussing “exactly what is on the line.”

“From the upstate to the low country, there is no one better positioned to lay out how Hillary Clinton will make a difference for families as our next president,” Middleton said.

Getting George W. Bush on the stump in South Carolina is a no-brainer, according to Bush supporters.

“George W. Bush is beloved in South Carolina and will only be an asset in the days leading up to the primary,” said Kimberley Fritts, CEO of the Podesta Group and a longtime Bush family confidante. “As you have seen on the trail recently — the entire Bush family is all in for Jeb, reinforcing that he is the steady hand with the temperament and experience to lead.”

The pro-Bush super PAC cut an ad running in South Carolina this month with George W. Bush supporting his brother. “Jeb will unite our country. He knows how to bring the world together against terror. He knows when tough measures must be taken,” Bush says, looking directly into the camera.