Stenberg grabs DeMint’s support for Neb. Senate

Conservative leaders and some Tea Party groups have been vocal in their support for Stenberg over Bruning. FreedomWorks, a well funded Tea Party PAC, endorsed Stenberg in September, as have conservative commentators Mark Levin and Erick Erickson. But Tea Party Express, another influential conservative group, has backed Bruning.

Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer (R), another candidate in the race, has been perceived as too moderate to secure the support of major Tea Party groups.

Bruning’s campaign manager, Trent Fellers, played down the impact of the DeMint endorsement, noting that Bruning has been backed by more than a dozen state senators.

“The voters of Nebraska are going to determine our next senator, and Jon Bruning is working tirelessly to
earn their support,” Fellers said.

{mosads}DeMint, whose endorsements have the ability to quickly mobilize his wide base of conservative supporters, told The Washington Post through a spokesman on Monday that he won’t endorse in the GOP presidential race, preferring instead to focus on Senate races.

“The biggest challenge for Stenberg is fundraising,” DeMint said Tuesday, appealing to his followers to financially support Stenberg’s campaign. Stenberg had less than $25,000 in the bank for his campaign as of the end of September.

— This post was updated at 12:05 p.m.