Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) picked up the Senate endorsement of his Sunshine State colleague, Rep. Jeff Miller, this morning. At a news conference in Pensacola, Miller said Mack was the best man to take on two-term Sen. Bill Nelson (D) in 2012.

Mack made his entry into the Senate race official late last month, after earlier saying he would pass on a bid. He’s rocketed to the top of recent primary polls, likely helped by the fact that his father, former Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), won two terms statewide.

In an interview with Roll Call, Miller explained that he had been pushing the younger Mack to get into the race for some time, after seeing that Republicans were not coalescing around any of the other GOP hopefuls. “I actually have been talking to Congressman Mack for a number of weeks now, trying to convince him to get into the Senate race,” Miller said.

“He is a consistent conservative. He is somebody who is the same today as when I first met him in the Florida House of Representatives,” said Miller, who is serving his fifth full term in Congress representing the western Florida Panhandle. “I think what people are looking for now is somebody who tells the truth and is honest with them about where we are as a nation.”

In a statement, Mack praised Miller and said the endorsement would be a boon to his Senate bid. “Jeff Miller’s help will be an important part of helping to build the organization and support we need in Northwest Florida and beyond to ensure that Senator Bill Nelson’s astonishingly liberal ways and days will soon be over,” Mack said.

In the Republican primary to take on Nelson, Mack faces former Sen. George LeMieux, former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, former Ruth’s Chris CEO Craig Miller and retired Army Col. Mike McCalister.
 
Roll Call rates the race as Leans Democratic.