The powerful pro-free-market Club for Growth endorsed former Iredell County Commissioner Scott Keadle in the Republican primary race to take on vulnerable Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.).

“Scott Keadle is a true fiscal conservative who will cut spending and fight the big-spending Republican establishment,” club President Chris Chocola said in a statement Monday. “As an Iredell County Commissioner, Scott Keadle demonstrated that he understands that government doesn’t create jobs — the free market does. The Club for Growth PAC strongly endorses Scott Keadle for Congress.”

Keadle, a dentist, faces a crowded and contentious primary in the redrawn 8th district, which strongly favors Republicans.

The frontrunner in that race appears to be former Congressional aide Richard Hudson, who begins airing a new ad today. Other candidates include neurosurgeon John Whitley, state Rep. Fred Steen and former Winston-Salem City Councilman Vernon Robinson.