Republican Senate candidate Greg Sowards picked up a high-profile endorsement today when Sen. Rand Paul - a tea party favorite - encouraged New Mexicans to vote for him.

Here's what Paul, a Kentucky Republican whose father is Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, had to say about Sowards:

"I'm calling on conservatives, libertarians, and Tea Party activists in New Mexico and across the nation to support Greg Sowards," Paul said in a statement.  "He will stand for the Constitution and I'm proud to stand with him.

Greg supports dramatically shrinking government.  Greg supports the 5-year balanced budget ... He agrees that our future generations of Americans do not deserve to be enslaved by debt, and we need more champions like him in the U.S. Senate."

Paul added, "Greg realizes our problems aren't solved in Washington, but by getting back to local governance where New Mexicans can have more control over their own lives.  Government does not create jobs... entrepreneurs like the Sowards family do."

Sowards faces an uphill battle in his Republican Senate primary race against the better-known and better-funded former Rep. Heather Wilson. Furthermore, the three-year-old tea party's influence seems to be waning. Regardless, the Paul endorsement gives Sowards something to smile about today.

Here's a profile Michael Coleman did of Sowards, an Army veteran and Las Cruces businessman, last month.

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