More On DeMint/Buck Endorsement

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Apr 15, 2010 at 10:08:09 AM MDT

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint (R) threw his endorsement behind Weld County prosecutor Ken Buck (R) in the Colorado Senate race, the latest in a series of moves by DeMint to buck the Republican Party establishment in contested primaries.

DeMint called Buck "an authentic conservative" who has "rapidly gained momentum" in his primary fight against former lieutenant governor Jane Norton among others.

DeMint's endorsement comes roughly 24 hours after Americans for Job Security, a conservative independent group, began running ads touting Buck, and following a Norton announcement that she would forgo the state convention -- where Buck had emerged as a clear favorite -- and instead would petition her way onto the ballot.

DeMint's endorsement of Buck marks the fifth time he has backed a Senate candidate via his Senate Conservatives Fund PAC this cycle. His past endorsements include: former representative Pat Toomey (Pa.), former state House speaker Marco Rubio (Fla.), state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (Calif.) and Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams (Texas). Only Toomey was running uncontested when DeMint waded in; the other four -- including Buck -- faced candidates with varying levels of support from the party establishment. (Williams' bid ended the day Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced she would not resign from the Senate after losing a gubernatorial primary last month.)

"Senator DeMint is helping strong conservative candidates around the country who have been overlooked by the Washington establishment," explained Matt Hoskins, an aide to DeMint.