Sarah Palin is wading into Minnesota's governor's race to throw 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 Thursday.

Emmer is an attorney who played hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He's vying with fellow state Rep. Marty Seifert for endorsement at Friday's Republican state convention.

Palin described Emmer as a "patriotic fiscally conservative" candidate.

The former Alaska governor endorsed 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.