Shane Schoeller's campaign for the Republican nomination for secretary of state has gotten a boost of late, picking up the endorsement of a pair of state Senators over the last week.

The endorsements of Republican Sens. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph and Jim Lembke of Lemay are significant because they are colleagues of Schoeller's rivals for the nomination -- Sens. Scott Rupp and Bill Stouffer.

Schoeller currently serves as speaker pro tem of the Missouri House.

Lembke's endorsement, announced today, comes on the same day that Schoeller is hosting a rally with Republican nominees for attorney general Ed Martin and state treasurer Cole McNary. Schaaf made his endorsement official last week.

Both Lembke and Schaaf were members of the so-called "gang of nine," a group of conservative senators that temporarily stalled debate on Missouri's proposed budget because they felt it spent too much and relied too heavily on one-time revenues. Both also referred to Schoeller as a "consistent conservative" in their endorsement announcements.

Lembke faces a tough re-election campaign this fall, after seeing his district redrawn and become much more Democratic. Schaaf is halfway through his first term in the Senate.

Awaiting the winner of the August Republican primary is Democrat Jason Kander, who last week released his first web ad touting his military experience.