Sen. Jim DeMint has endorsed Marlin Stutzman in the Indiana Republican Senate primary, bringing the fund-raising apparatus of his Senate Conservatives Fund PAC to a candidate who was heretofore considered a dark horse.

Stutzman, a farmer and state senator, is running in a crowded Republican field led by former-senator Dan Coats, the prohibitive favorite who enjoys a wide lead over presumptive Democratic opponent Brad Ellsworth.

“Marlin Stutzman is the conservative outsider in the Indiana Senate race who will take on the Washington establishment,” said Senator DeMint of the endorsement. “Marlin Stutzman reminds me of Marco Rubio in Florida. He has the same passion, the same love for his country, and the same courage to fight for it.”

DeMint thinks that, like Rubio, Stutzman could pull off an upset against a high-profile opponent.

“I’m very excited about what’s taking place in Indiana right now,” DeMint said. “We’ve got a young conservative running for the Senate who could pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year. He’s surging because he’s an authentic conservative who doesn’t apologize for his principles.”