Jim DeMint, the former Republican U.S. senator from South Carolina who President Donald Trump recently called "a terrific friend" and a thought leader, is endorsing Kathy Landing in the competitive GOP primary unfolding around Charleston.

The announcement comes from the most prominent current or former elected state official to weigh in on South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District race so far.

In a statement, DeMint praised Landing's conservative principles, and said she has what it takes to represent the Lowcountry in Washington.

"Kathy Landing is the conservative candidate who can beat Joe Cunningham this fall," DeMint said.

DeMint, who represented South Carolina's 4th Congressional District from 1999-2005 before serving as a U.S. senator from 2005-2013, said Landing has the education and business acumen to make an impact in Congress.

"Kathy is not afraid to take on the inefficiencies of Washington. Rather, Kathy will always fight for what is right and in the best interest of the Lowcountry, state, and nation. I am grateful to call Kathy Landing a friend and honored to endorse and support her in winning back South Carolina’s First Congressional District," DeMint said.

Landing, 57, was first elected to Mount Pleasant Town Council in November 2017. She is senior vice president of investments for Raymond James and Associates. She has more than 30 years of experience in financial planning.

This is Landing's first run for federal office. She welcomed DeMint's support, saying in a statement that she has long admired what she called DeMint's "conservative conscience."

"Knowing that one of Sen. DeMint’s most respected characteristics is his ability to assess situations before making a decision, I am incredibly humbled and honored that he has endorsed my candidacy," Landing said.

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DeMint garnered national acclaim from conservatives in 2010 when he led efforts to try banning congressional earmarks, which he held up as a symbol of out-of-control deficit spending.

Most recently, DeMint served as president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank. He held that post for four years before he was ousted in 2017.

He is chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute, a nonprofit group he founded in 2017 to strengthen the conservative presence in Washington.

The endorsement in the 1st Congressional District race shows a split emerging among GOP factions in the contest that national Republicans consider a must-win to regain their majority in the U.S. House.

Last month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy endorsed Nancy Mace, a state lawmaker from Daniel Island, over the three other GOP candidates hoping to knock Cunningham out of Congress in November.

There are two other Republican challengers in the contest: Chris Cox, co-founder of Bikers for Trump, and Brad Mole, who works as the housing and neighborhood services administrator for the town of Bluffton.

The Republican primary is June 9.