Once the top Thompson backer, now he's with McCain

In a sign of how serious the problems are in Fred Thompson's lackluster New Hampshire campaign the man who was slated to be his state chair not only left the campaign weeks ago, but today endorsed John McCain.

Dan Hughes, a former state Representative and Reagan official, has been upset with the lack any attention to New Hampshire from Thompson. During the summer, Hughes was the face of the Thompson campaign in the state.

"Senator McCain understands the value and purpose of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary and the importance of building a strong grassroots organization in the Granite State," Hughes said in a statement.

McCain is in the state today where he is filing papers to put his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot and attend town hall meetings in Rochester and Hampton. Thompson has only been to the state once since he announced his candidacy and that was over a month ago.

In response to Hughes's defection the Thompson campaign announced the state's commander in the United States Navy Reserve will serve as the campaign's state veteran's chair.