Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee took sides in the Florida Republican U.S. Senate primary Thursday by endorsing state Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
“Now more than ever, our country needs proven conservative leaders like Mike Haridopolos in the Senate who walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” said Huckabee in a video announcing his endorsement.
But the 2008 presidential candidate and potential 2012 candidate didn’t just issue an endorsement, he and his wife gave the maximum contribution possible to the Haridopolos campaign.
The endorsement was reportedly expected in Florida. The chairman of HuckPAC in the state is lobbyist Frank Tsmaoutales, who also happens to be a close friend of Haridpolos. Haridopolos also supported and endorsed Huckabee’s presidential bid in 2008.
And incidentally, in 2010, Huckabee also endorsed Haridopolos’ then-colleague in the senate, Marco Rubio.
“I am honored to have such a tremendous conservative leader like Gov. Huckabee stand with me and other Floridians to tell Washington that enough is enough,” said Haridopolos in a statement. “We’ve had enough of the broken promises, record borrowing, and deficits coming from the failed policies of Bill Nelson and Barack Obama.”