The Rudy Giuliani campaign has released the following:

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani will pick up the endorsement Friday of former GOP rival Tommy Thompson, a one-time Midwestern state governor.

“Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency. He is America’s mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership,” Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor, said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press.

The former New York mayor is to accept the endorsement in South Carolina later Friday.

Which explains the major announcement expected in South Carolina. The media had speculated, and sources had apparently said, that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford was going to endorse Rudy this week. Sanford’s office did not deny that he’d endorse Rudy, but said there was no endorsement, whether for Rudy or not, was coming this week.