Sanford, who made national headlines as governor in 2009 over his undisclosed departure from the state to visit his mistress in Argentina, has spent the week attending a number of candidates’ events in his Charleston-based district. He said he decided to endorse Cruz because he takes a strong stand on cutting federal spending.

“What struck me about Ted is the fact that he had come out against those ethanol subsidies,” said Sanford, dressed casually in light-blue jeans. “We need another fighter in Washington, in the Oval Office.”

Cruz also received hearty praise from Phil Robertson, the bearded "Duck Dynasty" patriarch, who strode onstage wearing camouflage and clutching an oversized Bible. Robertson declared that he was backing Cruz because “Bibles and guns brought us here — and it will be Bibles and guns that keep us here.”

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Yet another endorser came out from behind the velvet curtains at the historic Sottile Theater: David Limbaugh, the brother of conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh (and Hannity’s lawyer), who called Cruz “the most brilliant guy I’ve ever met in this [political] arena.”

“There are some good other candidates running, but there is only one authentic strong constitutionalist, Reagan conservative across the board, the closest thing we’ve had to Ronald Reagan in my lifetime,” Limbaugh said. “This is our last, best chance. We have to take it.”

For Cruz, who is lagging behind Donald Trump in the South Carolina polls, Friday afternoon was an opportunity to sprinkle some sparkles from conservative stars on his campaign to compete with the celebrity front-runner.

Hannity served as emcee for the event, the first half of which was taped for broadcast on his prime-time Fox News show. As they sat on stools onstage, in front of a Cruz campaign banner, Hannity bantered with the senator and the crowd and asked the candidate about the debt and national security.

Hannity also interviewed Cruz’s wife, Heidi, asking her how they could bear the barrage of negative ads on television. “It is a blood sport down here,” Hannity said.

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“It doesn’t bother Ted because he knows what he’s doing. He’s principled,” Heidi Cruz replied.

Examples of the orchestrated nature of the rally were omnipresent. Technical assistants rushed from behind the stage with notes and audio equipment, giving Hannity cues. There were commercial breaks that quieted the room for minutes on end, interrupted occasionally with shouts about who should serve as Cruz’s vice-presidential running mate, should he win the nomination. (Hannity suggested Robertson, to which the crowd roared its approval; Cruz then recommended Hannity join him on the ticket.)

Cruz took multiple shots at Trump, saying that the billionaire mogul, as well as Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), are his “two leading opponents.”

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“People in South Carolina want a conservative as our next president,” Cruz said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Make America great again.’ … The question is, do you understand what it was that made America great in the first place?”

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Once Hannity finished taping his program, Cruz emerged once again for a more familiar rally speech.

“You all enjoy being on Hannity?” Cruz asked. The crowd cheered.

“How about Phil Robertson? What a fearless voice for Jesus!” Cruz said. He later said Robertson would make a good ambassador to the United Nations in his administration.