Romney endorses Mack in Florida Senate primary

Mitt Romney is endorsing Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) in his contested primary for the Senate.

"Connie Mack is a friend, a strong conservative and the type of principled leader we need in Washington to restore fiscal responsibility. By electing Connie Mack, the people of Florida will be sending a clear message to [incumbent] Senator [Bill] Nelson [(D-Fla.)] and President Obama that their failed policies have not worked to change the borrow and spend ways of Washington," Romney said in a statement Wednesday.

Mack is locked in a tough primary battle with former Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.), a former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist who was appointed in September of 2009 to serve out the remainder of former Sen. Mel Martinez's (R-Fla.) term.

Mack and his father, former Sen. Connie Mack III (R-Fla.), both endorsed and campaigned with Romney during the state's January primary, which the presumptive Republican nominee won handily.

But since then, Mack has been plagued by a series of pitfalls, including allegations from the LeMieux campaign that he primarily resides in California. Mack has also drawn fire for a mailer, sent for free under congressional franking privileges, that targeted residents outside his district.

Mack's campaign has insisted the letter was unintentionally mailed by an outside vendor, and released a letter from Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) noting that Mack had reimbursed the government for the mistake.

Neither Republican candidate has polled particularly well against the incumbent Nelson, and what had appeared to be a competitive Senate race now looks like an easy keep for Democrats.

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