Palin weighs into contested Kansas Senate primary

Sarah Palin has weighed into another contested Republican primary — announcing Thursday she's backing Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) for the Kansas GOP Senate nod.

"Todd is a protector of our Constitution, a pro-family, pro-Second Amendment commonsense conservative who has never voted for a tax increase and has fought to end the wasteful spending coming out of Washington," Palin wrote on her Facebook page Thursday. "He didn't just stand on the sidelines complacently, but instead actually battled against the bailouts, the debt-ridden stimulus spending, the cap-and-tax energy schemes, and Obamacare."

She called on her supporters to help support Tiahrt's campaign. There are currently no plans for Palin to campaign with the eight-term congressman.

"We are very excited about the endorsement, and Todd is certainly open to having Gov. Palin return to Kansas to campaign with him any time," Sam Sackett, a Tiahrt spokesman, said in an e-mail.

Tiahrt faces Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) in the August primary. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is running for governor.

The former Alaska governor's had some luck picking the winners of recent primaries.

She endorsed gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley (R) in South Carolina and also backed Tim Scott against Paul Thurmond in the state's 1st congressional district GOP primary.

She'll be in California Friday for a fundraiser at for the 50th anniversary of California State University, Stanislaus.

--Updated at 6:19 p.m.