Chris McDaniel endorses Tea Party-backed candidate in Louisiana Senate race

Former Mississippi Senate challenger Chris McDaniel (R) threw his support behind fellow underdog Rob Maness (R-La.) in his outside bid to upset Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in November.

Maness is also running against Rep. Bill Cassidy, who holds the majority of Republican support. Recent polls have him with about 14 percent of the vote, well behind both Cassidy and Landrieu. If no candidate wins the majority of the vote, the top two vote getters will face a runoff.

{mosads}“The fight against the broken status quo that we started in Mississippi has continued in Louisiana through Col. Maness’s campaign against Washington politicians Mary Landrieu and Bill Cassidy,” McDaniel said in a statement. “Rob has the courage to put himself out there and have a real and robust conversation with the voters, offering positive solutions.”

McDaniel lost the Mississippi Republican runoff election by less than 8,000 votes, but still hasn’t conceded as he fights an uphill challenge in the courts. He received support from a number of Tea Party leaders during his race against Sen. Thad Cochran, who he argued wasn’t conservative enough to hold the seat. 

“Few know more about taking on the Washington establishment than Chris McDaniel and I couldn’t be more proud to have the support of someone who has fought so hard to bring the voice of conservatives to the forefront of the national conversation,” Maness said in a statement.

The Maness campaign also said that McDaniel plans to join the Tea Party-backed candidate at a fundraising tailgate before the Louisiana State University/Ole Miss football game on Oct. 26.