Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) endorsed Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA) Wednesday, becoming the first Louisiana Republican congressman to endorse a gubernatorial candidate for the state.

Congressman Higgins endorsed his colleague, Abraham, breaking months of silence during which Republicans have let Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone fight for the Louisiana Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Higgins said Abraham is the “righteous candidate.”

Higgins said in a statement Wednesday:

It has become clear. The path to recovery for Louisiana has now been illuminated. Ralph Abraham is a solid conservative, a dependable ally to President Trump, a very, very good man … and he is my friend. He will defeat John Bel Edwards and the liberal machine. He will bring jobs and economic growth back to Louisiana. We, the people of Louisiana need Ralph Abraham as our next governor. He is my brother. He has my full support.

Louisiana Republicans have been silent ahead of the October 12 primary, in which Abraham, Rispone, and Louisiana Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards will appear on the ballot. If none of the candidates reach the 50 percent threshold during the October primary, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election on November 16.

Higgins’ endorsement comes immediately after Ripsone launched an attack ad against fellow Republican Abraham, which reportedly frustrated many Republicans that fear a similar scenario to Louisiana’s 2015 gubernatorial election. During that race, then-Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) entered the runoff election after facing a tough primary battle. Vitter faced harsh criticism after he faced a prostitution scandal and was defeated by Edwards.

Rispone, a cofounder of construction firm ISC Constructors, has self-funded his campaign, pouring in more than $11.5 million of his own money into the Louisiana GOP primary.

Abraham has continued to attack Rispone for launching “baseless personal attacks” against him, contending that these attacks could spoil the election in favor of Democrat Edwards.

“This is the literal playbook that allowed John Bel to be elected four years ago. I’m sure his out-of-state consultants told him that he was so far behind he had to do this to win, regardless of what it could mean for our state,” Abraham said.