To win re-election, Sen. Lisa Murkowski will need to beat the Democratic challenger. But before she has a chance to knock him down, she'll have to beat Joe Miller, her challenger in the Republican primary.

Miller has been riding high on endorsements from Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, but Murkowski rolled out a key endorsement of her own on Tuesday when her campaign announced the support of two key members of the Alaska State Legislature: Senate President Gary Stevens and Speaker of the House Mike Chenault.

"Last session the state legislature passed two joint resolutions opposing federal cap and trade legislation and the EPA's power grab on carbon emissions, which mirrors what I have been fighting in Congress," Murkowski said in a press release. "These measures -- and other efforts like it -- bolstered my efforts to fight for Alaska in Washington."

Stevens and Chenault "commended Lisa's work fighting the assault on Alaska in Washington," according to the release. They were especially thankful for her efforts to halt the shutdown of federal lands to resource development, support of hunting and fishing rights, and her votes against the federal healthcare takeover and tax increases.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.