Sen. Lee backs Flake for Senate in Arizona

Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) made another endorsement Tuesday in a Senate race that may still see a contested Republican primary. 

Lee is backing Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) for the seat of retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). The endorsement comes a week after Lee gave his nod to former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz in a crowded GOP primary for retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-Texas) seat. 

"Jeff Flake's record on fiscal conservatism speaks for itself," Lee said in a statement. "He was offering legislation to cut spending, end earmark abuse, and limit government long before the Tea Party movement became popular." 

A release from the Flake campaign trumpeting the endorsement touts Lee as a "Tea Party Favorite."

Lee's early endorsements are a sign that he's working to carve out his own role in GOP Senate primaries this cycle, similar to fellow Tea Party Caucus member Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). 

Lee's endorsements also come as he has declined to back his home state colleague, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), in the face of a potential Tea Party primary challenge next year. Lee has said he will remain neutral if someone challenges Hatch in a GOP primary. 

Flake has already won endorsements from the Club for Growth, the Tea Party group FreedomWorks and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.). Still, at least two Republicans are contemplating jumping in and setting up a primary battle. 

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) are considering bids — if either one were to opt for a race, they would run to the right of Flake in a GOP primary. 

Hayworth was in Washington last week and told The Ballot Box he's unimpressed with Flake's fast start, saying the congressman only has the support of "the Washington crowd."

"I don't blame Jeff for trying to foster the delusions of inevitability and invincibility, but I think rather than the Washington crowd deciding things, I think people in Arizona will," Hayworth said. 

The former congressman, who launched a failed primary challenge to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) last cycle, said he's in no rush to decide on a Senate bid.