Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) for president on Monday.

“Rick Perry is the candidate who can lead our party to victory in 2012,” Jindal said in a statement from the Perry campaign. “President Obama promised hope, but he simply hasn’t delivered. Rick Perry will bring our country more than hope – he’ll get America working again.”

{mosads}The endorsement comes the same day that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) announced that he would endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R). Most recent Republican primary polls have found either Romney or Perry leading the GOP field.

“I truly appreciate Gov. Jindal’s endorsement because he is a leader who knows what it takes to rebuild an economy and restore people’s confidence,” Perry said in the same statement.

Starting with the last Republican debate, Perry and Romney have repeatedly traded barbs over job creation and Social Security. Romney has repeatedly hit Perry on a statement in Perry’s book Fed Up! in which Perry wrote that Social Security was a failed program. In the last debate, both candidates accused each other of having exaggerated their records on job creation. 

Romney and Perry as well as the rest of the GOP presidential field are set to square off at another debate Monday night in Tampa, Florida.

—This story was updated at 6:06 p.m.