A Florida GOP House member went against conventional wisdom and endorsed Marco Rubio for Senate on Thursday.
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) joined Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) in backing Rubio (R), the former Speaker of the Florida House who is running a long-shot bid to replace Sen. George LeMieux (R).
LeMieux was appointed earlier this month to fill out former Sen. Mel Martinez's (R) unexpired term. In the Republican primary, Rubio will face Gov. Charlie Crist (R), the popular first-term governor who leads by big margins in most polls.
But Rubio is running hard to Crist's right, keeping the heat on the governor for backing President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, among other issues on which the two disagree.
So far, Rubio has attracted national attention in his quest. In addition to the two Florida House members, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) well-respected figures in social-conservative circles have backed his bid.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/59273-brown-waite-endorses-rubio