Mack for Romney, Perry for Giuliani

The endorsement scorecard continues apace.

After snagging what could be a significant backer in the evangelical community on Tuesday, Mitt Romney announced this morning that he has the support of Congressman Connie Mack of Florida.

"Governor Romney is a proven problem solver with an unparalleled record of success in both the public and private sectors," Mack said in a statement provided by the Romney campaign. "Governor Romney is a mainstream conservative leader who will be a champion of hope and opportunity for every American, a catalyst for conservative change in Washington, and a staunch defender of our freedom, security and prosperity."

Romney on Tuesday won the support of Bob Jones III, chancellor of the fundamentalist Christian university in South Carolina named for his family.

Mack will serve as chairman of Romney's steering committee in Florida, which looms large on the Republican nomination calendar. It is scheduled for Jan. 29, after the first contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and before the quasi-national primary on Feb. 5, when about 20 states are set to vote.

Rudy Giuliani, who leads in the polls in Florida as well as nationally, is counting heavily on the Sunshine State as a springboard to Feb. 5.

Giuliani, meanwhile, claimed a notable endorsement today, that of Texas Governor Rick Perry, the first sitting governor to announce support for the former New York mayor.

"For the last six months, I have cogitated, I've looked, I've studied these candidates -- some of them I know very well -- and came to the conclusion that the individual who can lead America with clarity, the individual who has the experience, the individual who cleaned up a city that was absolutely on its back is Mayor Rudy Giuliani," Perry said this morning on "Fox & Friends." I'm proudly and excitedly going to campaign for him and work for him."