Wednesday was the day of endorsements.

As President Bush endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain, McCain passed the favor along to state Senate President Tim Bee.

“Tim Bee has worked hard for the people of Southern Arizona. He is a commonsense, independent and proven leader. We need Tim Bee in Washington,” McCain said of Bee, the Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent Gabrielle Giffords in District 8.

Bee mentioned the endorsement in an interview several weeks ago, and indicated an official announcement would be coming this month. It’s also not a huge surpise considering that Republicans endorse Republicans and Democrats endorse Democrats.

But does it help Bee’s campaign as they seek to knock out Giffords with limited resources? Well, it sure doesn’t hurt.

And Arizona Republicans are excited about the notion of McCain as the nominee, hoping it will help other GOP candidates like Bee. If McCain’s endorsement is coupled with any commercials or visable support as the District 8 race unfolds, it could be an even bigger asset.

But McCain’s entry into the District 8 sure didn’t do much for Republican Randy Graf in 2006. The Graf campaign, lacking support from the district’s critical moderate Republicans, hoped to flaunt the endorsement to consolidate party support. But Giffords beat Graf by appealing to many of those voters.