Share On more Share On more 
 
 Share On more Share On more 
 
 Arizona Senator John McCain, his party's 2008 nominee, will endorse Mitt Romney in New Hampshire tomorrow, a well-placed former McCain aide told BuzzFeed Tuesday. 
 
 McCain and Romney were bitter foes in 2008, but Romney repaired the relationship after his defeat with a season of determined campaigning for his former rival. 
 
 The endorsement will offer the Romney campaign a pivot point after the virtual tie with Senator Rick Santorum in Iowa, and a growing impression that the former governor is uniting the party behind him. 
 
 McCain is unlikely, however, to appeal to the conservative Republicans who are skeptical of both men, and may even intensify the alienation of a vocal group of grassroots conservatives. 
 
 Two Romney aides and McCain's spokesman did not respond to inquiries about the planned endorsement. 
 
 A source said a key intermediary was Ambassador Rich Williamson, a former senior Bush Administration foreign policy official who was a top advisor to McCain and now holds a senior position in Romney's foreign policy team. 
 
 Romney heads to New Hampshire tomorrow for two town hall-style meetings, a format that was McCain's signature in a state that nearly boosted McCain to the nomination in 2000. 

 McCain Endorses Romney 
 
 Saying he's there "to make sure we make Mitt Romney the next president of the United States of America," 2008 Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain just returned to New Hampshire to endorse the White House bid of his one-time rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. 
 
 McCain and Romney fought a hard battle for the GOP nomination n 2008, after which Romney endorsed the Arizona senator. 
 
 McCain, who spent considerable amounts of time in the Granite State during the 2000 and 2008 primary seasons, went to New Hampshire today to return the favor. His announcement comes the morning after Romney barely edged — by eight votes — former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. 
 
 New Hampshire's primary is set for next Tuesday. Polls show Romney with a substantial lead in the state at this point. 
 
 Of Romney, McCain said "he will lead from the front as Ronald Reagan did, not from behind as this president [Barack Obama] does."
– No last-minute change of heart: As expected, John McCain today endorsed former rival Mitt Romney for president in New Hampshire, reports NPR. "He will lead from the front as Ronald Reagan did, not from behind as this president does," said McCain. Four years ago, Romney endorsed McCain after dropping out of the GOP race, and McCain returned the favor today. “I am really here for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make sure that Mitt Romney is the next president of the United States,” McCain said. The move, however, may not do much to rally conservatives behind Romney, writes Ben Smith, formerly of Politico and now at BuzzFeed. McCain has never been a favorite in that camp, and this "may even intensify the alienation of a vocal group of grassroots conservatives." It should, however, make Romney even tougher to beat next week in New Hampshire, notes Alicia M. Cohn at the Hill.