MIAMI --Florida Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottcamp, who ran on the same gubernatorial ticket in 2006 with then-Republican Charlie Crist, will endorse Republican Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate race now that Crist has bailed from the party, Fox News has learned.

Republican candidate for Florida attorney general, Kottcamp will make his announcement in an e-mail release on Wednesday, according to senior aide David Bishop.

Kottcamp has not spoken to Crist since he left the Republican Party in April to run as an independent in the Senate race after polls showed Rubio with a wide lead in the GOP primary. Crist and Kottcamp won the ticket in November 2006 and took the oath of office in January 2007 as the 44th governor and 17th lieutenant governor, respectively...