Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), who is currently running for the Republican nomination in a contested 2010 U.S. Senate primary, has now endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 special election -- the second sitting member of Congress to openly do so, after Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

Tiahrt's press release blasts the moderate GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava, questions her party loyalty, and casts the race as a test for the soul of the GOP:

"Doug Hoffman will be a consistent vote for conservative principles in the U.S. House of Representatives. I have no doubt he will vote for anyone other than Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House, which is the most important vote of each Congress. I do not have that same confidence in his opponent, who has a very similar record to Ms. Pelosi."

Tiahrt claims the New York 23 election reflects the same battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party going on nationally.

"The Republican Party is either going to return to the party of fiscal responsibility and consistent conservative principles as it was under Ronald Reagan or it will continue down the path of 'sporadic moderation,'" Tiahrt exclaimed.

As noted before, Tiahrt is running in a Republican primary for Senate, facing off against fellow Kansas GOP Congressman Jerry Moran. Take this as a sign that support of Hoffman over Scozzafava could become its own litmus test for Republicans in the future -- as a mark of true conservatism, requiring that candidates will have not supported the GOP's actual nominee in this race.

Check out the full Tiahrt press release after the jump.

Tiahrt Endorses Doug Hoffman in New York 23
Conservative Kansas congressman supports Conservative Party candidate over GOP pick

U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas) today endorsed Doug Hoffman in the special election to replace U.S. Representative John McHugh in New York's 23rd District.

"The Republican Party will never again be a majority party until we regain the confidence of the American people," said Tiahrt. "I believe there is room for disagreement within the party and we should not have litmus tests. However, the Republican nominee appears to have disavowed most conservative principles that are important to a vast majority of Republican voters."

Tiahrt said he believes Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, can win the special election and would be more supportive of a conservative Republican agenda than his opponent.

"Doug Hoffman will be a consistent vote for conservative principles in the U.S. House of Representatives. I have no doubt he will vote for anyone other than Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House, which is the most important vote of each Congress. I do not have that same confidence in his opponent, who has a very similar record to Ms. Pelosi."

Tiahrt claims the New York 23 election reflects the same battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party going on nationally.

"The Republican Party is either going to return to the party of fiscal responsibility and consistent conservative principles as it was under Ronald Reagan or it will continue down the path of 'sporadic moderation,'" Tiahrt exclaimed.

Tiahrt was elected to Congress in 1994. He defeated 18-year incumbent Democrat Congressman Dan Glickman. Tiahrt is best known to New York conservatives as the author of the "Tiahrt Amendment," which protects gun owner privacy and the lives of law enforcement officers. Tiahrt is widely recognized as the true conservative Republican candidate in the U.S. Senate race in Kansas.