Calling him a “proven warrior,” former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn on Tuesday in posts on social media.

“Darryl Glenn is a conservative outsider needed to take Washington by storm,” Palin wrote in her endorsement. Citing Glenn’s military service – he’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force – Palin notes, “He’s one who proudly clings to God, guns and our constitution!”

The one-time vice presidential nominee also included links to Glenn’s fundraising site and to a video of the “speech that shook up Colorado!” Palin writes. That would be the 5-minute barnburner Glenn delivered at the state assembly in April, when the El Paso County commissioner stunned political observers by winning top line on the primary ballot with 70 percent of the vote, shutting out nine other candidates.

“This is a true honor and we look forward to working for brighter tomorrow together,” the Glenn campaign said in an email to supporters. “It is time for Colorado to lead and we are proud to have Sarah Palin on board!”

Glenn is one of five GOP candidates vying for the chance to challenge U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, pegged as the lone Democratic incumbent senator running for reelection in a swing state this year. The other four candidates – Colorado Springs businessman Robert Blaha, former Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, Fort Collins businessman Jack Graham and former state Rep. Jon Keyser – all petitioned their way onto the June 28 primary ballot. Mail ballots are on their way to voters statewide this week.

The endorsement by Palin, one of the conservative movement’s stars, comes on the heels of an endorsement late last month by the Senate Conservative Fund, an organization founded by former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and headed by former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

Glenn is one of just three Senate candidates the organization has endorsed so far this cycle. In 2010, the organization’s backing helped now-U.S. Rep. Ken Buck beat former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton in that year’s Republican primary for the nomination to run against Bennet the first time he was on the ballot.

In addition to urging supporters to contribute to Glenn, who has trailed the other GOP primary candidates in fundraising by a wide margin, the SCF endorsement has also meant heavy spending on advertising in support of Glenn.

Between the Senate Conservatives Fund and Senate Conservatives Action, its super PAC arm, as of Tuesday Cuccinelli’s organization is sinking nearly $200,000 into broadcast and cable advertising backing Glenn, according to media trackers, roughly double what Frazier and Keyser have said they’re spending on TV advertising so far.

Colorado Democrats said Palin’s endorsement came as no surprise.

“It’s hardly a surprise that Darryl Glenn earned Sarah Palin’s endorsement today, considering he is one of the most extreme conservative candidates running for Senate,” said Chris Meagher, a spokesman for the party. “Just as Palin has shown for years that she is out-of-touch with mainstream America, Glenn – a climate change denier who has called Donald Trump a patriot – has shown he is out-of-touch with the people of Colorado.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com