A former education adviser to Mark Sanford is endorsing Rep. Andy Patrick, R-Hilton Head, in his run for the First Congressional District seat. Barbara Nielsen, who served as state Superintendent of Education from 1990 to 1998 and later as a K-12 advisor to Sanford, who is also running for the seat, said Patrick is the right pick.

"I am proud to endorse Andy Patrick for Congress," Nielsen said in a statement Wednesday. "In Columbia, Andy has been a leader in student- and parent-centered education policy. As a dad of five, Andy knows that each of his children learn differently and have different learning strengths. Andy has applied this understanding to public policy successfully at the highest levels. I have no doubt that he will take this passion for our next generation to Washington and be a leader in reforming our broken national education system -- bringing it back to the local level where it is most effective and ensuring dollars reach the classroom."