Russell, national attention growing, receives Huckabee endorsement

Faced with a bleak political climate nationwide, Republicans have found friendly ground in one of the unlikeliest places -- John Murtha's western Pennsylvania congressional district.

And now they're making their presence felt. Already the darling of political commentators Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin, 12th Congressional District candidate Bill Russell on Tuesday officially received the endorsement of former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

The former governor, who called Russell a "strong conservative" in a statement released by Russell's campaign, asked conservatives to contribute to the former lieutenant colonel's campaign, a move sure to bolster the candidate's already large war chest.

Russell also received help from the RNC Tuesday when it debuted a new ad aimed at Murtha's string of misstatements the last two years.

Russell is one of the few Republican congressional candidates who remains competitive in the state. He's down only 4 points to the 17-term incumbent according to a recent poll.

Murtha has clearly taken notice. He has sharpened his critique of Russell this week and recently began receiving help from the AFL-CIO.