Republican South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint announced his endorsement of Mark Neumann for the 2012 senate seat in Wisconsin Monday. DeMint, a Tea Party Republican, announced his endorsement in a statement posted to his PAC website for the Senate Conservatives Fund.
“Mark Neumann is a proven, conservative leader and he’s running against Tommy Thompson, a Republican who helped President Obama pass his healthcare takeover,” DeMint said in the statement.
Neumann represented Wisconsin’s 1st congressional district from 1995-99, and lost a bid for the Wisconsin governor race to Scott Walker in 2010. He is running against Thompson to replace Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, who will not seek re-election in 2012.
DeMint’s endorsement of Neumann is the Wisconsin Republican’s third endorsement by a conservative senator in the month of November, as DeMint joins senators Rand Paul and Tom Coburn in endorsing Neumann. The Conservative Women’s Organization also endorsed Neumann last week.
“The choice in this race could not be more clear. On one hand, we have Mark Neumann, a rock-solid conservative who has demonstrated the courage to stand up to the big spenders in both political parties,” DeMint said Monday. “On the other hand, we have Tommy Thompson, an establishment Republican with a record of helping liberals to pass budget-busting policies that take away our freedoms.”
DeMint also stated that in a poll of supporters of the Senate Conservatives Fund, 88 percent of respondents chose Neumann as the best choice.
The Wisconsin Senate race will be held in November of 2012.
