From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser
Utah Senate hopeful Mike Lee was endorsed by the Tea Party Express on Tuesday.
(CNN) – With one week to go until Utah's primary, one of the two Republican Senate candidates in the race is getting a major endorsement.
The national Tea Party organization Tea Party Express Tuesday backed Mike Lee in the battle to succeed fellow Republican Bob Bennett.
The move comes four days after Bennett endorsed Tim Bridgewater, the other candidate in the contest.
Bridgewater and Lee finished first and second last month at the Utah Republican party convention, advancing to the June 22 primary. Bridgewater and Lee touted themselves as more reliable conservatives than Bennett, who finished third in the voting by delegates, eliminating him from advancing to the primary and ending his chances of re-election for a fourth term in the Senate. Bennett became the first sitting senator to go down to defeat in a primary season marked by a strong anti-incumbent sentiment.
Tea Party Express is going to launch a radio ad blitz starting today for Conservative Republican Mike Lee's U.S. Senate campaign in Utah.
The primary election is next Tuesday, just a few days away.
The Tea Party Express is standing strong behind Mike Lee - the candidate endorsed by Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservative Fund, Conservative Radio Host Mark Levin, Congressman Ron Paul and many others.
Mike's opponent is an establishment politician who has just been endorsed by Utah Senator Bob Bennett - a man who is the epitome of everything that is wrong with the establishment GOP. Tea Party activists in Utah worked hard to defeat Bennett in the Utah Caucus.
The Tea Party Express has joined FreedomWorks and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and endorsed attorney Mike Lee in the race for Sen. Bob Bennett's (R-Utah) open seat. That pits both groups against Bennett, who, after publicly mulling over then passing on a write-in in bid, endorsed businessman Tim Bridgewater, the winner of the state convention.
There's almost no daylight between Lee and Bridgewater on the issues -- the campaign in the state has been defined, occasionally, by mudslinging over tactics instead of tests of ideology. But tea party activists like Lee because he's younger, has experience as a lawyer working on constitutional issues, and hasn't run for office before. Bridgewater, a twice-unsuccessful candidate for other offices, has locked up more local establishment support.
Below the fold, check out one of the TPE's latest fundraising letters and see how it leverages endorsements like these.
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