National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) will headline a breakfast rally this weekend for GOP House candidate Jon Barela.

Barela, former chairman of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, faces an uphill battle to unseat freshman Rep. Martin Heinrich (D) in the Democratic-leaning district and has put up only modest fundraising numbers.

But he has been named to the second tier of the NRCC’s “Young Guns” program for promising recruits, and the fact that Sessions is making a visit to his district indicates that Republicans view the seat as an increasingly strong pickup opportunity.

Sunday’s scheduled appearance will be Sessions’ first to campaign with Barela. The NRCC chairman also is booked to attend the state GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday night.