Ken Buck endorsed by former candidate Tom Wiens; Sarah Palin stiffs Jane Norton

One endorsement for Ken Buck, none for Jane Norton.

Republican senatorial hopefuls Ken Buck and Jane Norton spent much of last week dishing about wannabe veep Sarah Palin, who was said to be planning a Norton endorsement during her Magness Arena appearance in Denver on Saturday. Problem is, the Republican assembly was taking place earlier that day -- and because Norton had opted out of that process, Buck argued that a Palin endorsement of her mere hours later would disrespect the party's delegates.

Palin wisely avoided getting into the middle of this kerfuffle, endorsing no one during her Magness address. Today, however, Buck, who triumphed at the assembly, received an endorsement from someone closer to home -- Tom Wiens, who'd also been seeking the Republican senatorial nomination. Wiens has now dropped out of the race and is throwing his support to Buck -- a move that further establishes the latter's grassroots credentials in comparison to Norton.

Check out the Wiens release below:

Dear Friend,

I wanted you to know that I have made the difficult decision to leave the race for U.S. Senate in Colorado and give my wholehearted support to Ken Buck.

Having campaigned with all the candidates over the last many months, I have seen that Ken Buck is prepared to do a great job as U.S. Senator. These are serious times, and we must send serious, capable people to reclaim our children's future from Washington. Ken Buck has the ability to grasp and act upon the challenges facing Colorado and our country. This is not a time to send anyone to Washington who is not fully prepared to do the job.

The reason we have Republican primaries is to determine the future of the party. Part of what this primary has been about is whether or not we want the same Republican Party we have had for the last several years, or whether we want to take it in a new direction. I look forward to helping Ken Buck be elected to the United States Senate and to working with him to reform the Republican Party.

Ken has worked tirelessly and has gained the support of grassroots conservatives all across the state. We need people like Ken Buck representing us in Washington who will restore respect for the American people, the Constitution and the principles that have made our country the greatest nation in history. With my departure from this race, it is clear that Ken Buck is the only candidate who has these essential capabilities. And, frankly, I don't want to take the chance of Ken Buck and myself splitting up the conservative vote in a three-way Republican primary.

I am committed to growing the grassroots efforts to take back our country from a completely out-of-touch Washington, DC, and I will be aggressively supporting efforts to do this in Colorado and around the country. I will be making some major announcements about this in the near future.

I would like to thank everybody who has given their support to my campaign for the United States Senate and look forward to working with all Coloradans to help make our state the greatest possible place to live, work and raise a family.

I would also like to encourage you to support Ken's campaign with your time and financially by going to www.BuckforColorado.com.