Long-shot Senate candidate Dave Weldon (R) announced the endorsement of Florida House Rep. Dennis Baxley on Monday.

Baxley was Speaker Pro Tem for Marco Rubio in the Florida House and the executive director of the Christian Coalition of Florida. He was also one of the authors of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which has come under fire in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

Baxley was also the original sponsor of H.B. 1355, a broad election law that has put Florida in the headlines leading up to November. The 2011 law reduces the number of days for early voting, eliminates the ability for voters to change their address at voting stations, and creates new administrative requirements for third-party civic groups that seek to organize voter registration drives.

Baxley originally endorsed George LeMieux,  but LeMieux dropped out of the Senate race last month.

“Dr. Dave Weldon is a strong defender of Second Amendment rights that Americans hold so dear,” Baxley said. “I have absolute confidence that Weldon would be a protector of those rights that are important to stopping violent acts from occurring.

Baxley insisted on Monday that Weldon has a chance of defeating Mack in the primary next month.

“The results in Florida’s Republican primary for the U.S. Senate are not inevitable,” Baxley said.  “The elites in Washington are not going to tell us who to elect and Dave Weldon has shown he has a fighting chance and can take this election. On August 14, I will be voting for Dr. Dave Weldon. The establishment was wrong on Charlie Crist and they’re wrong on Connie Mack.”

Tags | Connie Mack, Dave Weldon, Dennis Baxley, George LeMieux