State Rep. Bob Latta (R), the son of ex-Rep. Del Latta (R) who is bidding to replace the late Rep. Paul Gillmor (R) in a special election this fall, picked up a key endorsement late last week.

State Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R), who was contemplating a Congressional bid of his own, has thrown his support to Latta, who lost a 1988 Republican primary to Gillmor by just 27 votes.

“You never have to keep an eye on Bob Latta,” Wachtmann said in a statement. “He always does the right thing without having to be coerced.”

State Sen. Steve Buehrer is the other leading Republican in the race so far.

— Josh Kurtz