Sarah Palin waded into Minnesota’s governor’s race on Thursday, throwing her support to a “straight talking hockey dad” locked in a tight race to be the Republicans’ favored candidate in November.

Palin posted her support for state Rep. Tom Emmer on her Facebook page.

Emmer, a 49-year-old attorney who played hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, is vying with fellow state Rep. Marty Seifert, 38, for endorsement at Friday’s Republican state convention in Minneapolis.

Palin described Emmer as a “patriotic fiscally conservative” candidate and directed her more than 1.5 million Facebook fans to his website.

The former Alaska governor endorsed and campaigned with Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a contested GOP primary he later won. She is also backing U.S. Rep. Rand Paul, the son of former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, in Kentucky’s U.S. Senate primary against another GOP candidate.