Christian
Coalition officer backs Romney

A Christian Coalition of America officer who ran a successful campaign to ban same-sex marriage in South Carolina said Thursday he is endorsing Republican Mitt Romney's presidential bid and will work for the campaign.

Drew McKissick, the national coalition's secretary and board member, will be a paid ''South Carolina grassroots adviser'' for the campaign, Romney spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said Thursday.

McKissick, who also is cochairman of the South Carolina GOP's rules committee, said his endorsement of the former Massachusetts governor has nothing to do with his own role with the Christian Coalition.

Gitcho and McKissick said there was no link between the endorsement and the paid campaign job.

''I started to go through this process a year ago,'' McKissick said of the endorsement. ''It became obvious to me who was likely be the consensus conservative choice.''

The campaign declined to say how much McKissick would be paid.

Last year Romney's political action committee donated $5,000 to McKissick's SC for Marriage group, which pushed a state constitutional amendment that prevents any type of legal recognition of same-sex unions. While the group solicited cash from other presidential hopefuls, Romney was the only one to write a check, McKissick said. (AP)