A former co-chair of Mike Huckabee’s New Hampshire campaign has endorsed Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Fred Bramante announced on a conference call with reporters that he is backing Obama because he opposes John McCain’s plan to use school vouchers.

“I can’t live with that, I can’t be out there advocating for a candidate who I believe is going to have the center piece of his education plan an issue that I have opposed,” Bramante told reporters.

Bramante also said that he notified former Gov. Craig Benson about his decision last night.

“I had a conversation with Governor Benson, I wanted to give him a heads-up about what I was doing and he said, ‘Fred you’re putting the kids before the party and I applaud you for doing it,’” Bramante said.

Bramante stressed that he is not switching his party affiliation and still intends to vote for Republicans down-the-ballot.

“I don’t want anybody to take this that I’m becoming a Democrat that is not my intention,” Bramante said.

Bramante is also a former chairman of the state Board of Education and was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.