Washington – A little known conservative from Colorado running for U.S. Senate is hoping a big name endorsement will give his campaign a bump in name identification and fundraising.
Colorado prosecutor Ken Buck is running to unseat Democratic Senator Michael Bennett. Buck’s main opponent is former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton (R), who outraised Buck significantly in the last quarter of 2009.
Conservative Senator Jim Demint (R) of South Carolina announced his endorsement of Buck today during a conference call with reporters and bloggers.
“I saw the same thing with Marco Rubio, a person willing to get into a David and Goliath fight because he believes in the principals.” Said Senator Demint.
Demint has become a kingmaker in the conservative movement and his Senate Conservatives Fund has given money to a number of races this year. The biggest influence has been in Florida where DeMint was an early backer of the former Speaker of the Florida House, Marco Rubio.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist was the prohibitive favorite for the GOP Senatorial nomination in Florida last summer, earning the early endorsement of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Rubio has since caught and passed Crist in the polls, fueled in part by DeMint’s early endorsement and Tea Party support.
Buck can use any help he can get when it comes to fundraising, his campaign hasn’t released first quarter 2010 fundraising totals yet but only raised about $40,000 in the final quarter of 2009. On the other hand Buck’s Republican opponent Jane Norton reported $816,000 in the first quarter.