Jim DeMint (Getty)

Jim DeMint broke with his Senate Republican colleagues today and announced his support for Florida U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio over his GOP rival, Gov. Charlie Crist – the party establishment favorite in the race.

“I believe if we are to defeat the forces of Big Government now controlling Washington, Marco Rubio needs to be a big part of the Republican Party’s present. He has the skills and ideas we need to rebuild our party, reform our government, and renew our nation.
That’s why Marco Rubio will have my full support in his upcoming election,” DeMint, a staunch conservative from South Carolina, wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday.  

Rubio, a former Florida state House speaker, is running to the right of Crist, who has earned support from the Senate GOP leadership, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Florida’s GOP party chairman Jim Greer.