Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) announced on Monday that he has the backing of Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), marking the first Senate endorsement he has garnered for his 2008 presidential campaign. [IMGCAP(1)]

A statement from Giuliani’s campaign said that Vitter will help to build support for the New Yorker in the South as well as in the Senate — which is home to one of Giuliani’s top rivals for the GOP nod, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

While Vitter is politically the polar opposite of Giuliani on social issues such as abortion rights and gun control, he highlighted Giuliani’s record on fiscal issues in making his endorsement.

“I believe the Republican Party needs to always be the party of free market economics and reform,” Vitter said in a statement released by Giuliani’s campaign. “Rudy implemented those principles as mayor of New York by cutting taxes 23 times, making government more efficient and moving welfare recipients into jobs.”

— Lauren W. Whittington