Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) endorsed Marco Rubio in the Florida GOP senate primary this afternoon. Inhofe is the second conservative senator to buck his party's national senate committee, which has already announced its public endorsement of Rubio's primary opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist.

Earlier this year, Rubio picked up the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who has been a regular fundraiser for Rubio and hosted him in D.C. over the summer. Like DeMint, Inhofe is a hard-right conservative.

Inhofe explained his endorsement in a statement issued by the Rubio campaign:

"Marco is exactly the type of conservative leader Americans need in Washington today fighting for the principles of limited government, individual liberty and personal responsibility.

Like me, Marco believes that the federal government works best when it returns dollars, decisions and freedom to our local communities and families. In the Senate, Marco will stand up for America's taxpayers, not with President Obama and dangerous big government spending."