(CNN) - Under attack by the Republican Party in his home state, Sen. John McCain is getting some support from someone beloved by conservatives – his former running mate, Sarah Palin.
"I consider Senator John McCain an American hero and a friend. He fights to remind our President that the federal government's first priority must be strong defense of our homeland," wrote Palin Monday night on her Facebook page, adding that "he fights against big-spending colleagues who don't prioritize for our military's needs."
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The Arizona Republican Party Saturday censured the longtime GOP Senator for what it called his "long and terrible" record of voting with liberal Democrats. The voice vote came from the floor at the Party's meeting in Tempe. While the resolution does not have an impact on McCain's work in Congress, the party pledges it would not support, campaign for or endorse the Republican Senator.
"Only in times of great crisis or betrayal is it necessary to publicly censure our leaders. Today we are faced with both. For too long we have waited, hoping Senator McCain would return to our party's values on his own. That has not happened," read the resolution.
The resolution specifically refers to McCain's vote last year for the Senate comprehensive immigration bill, which included a pathway to citizenship. McCain, and his fellow GOP senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, were two out of 14 Republican Senators who joined with Democrats to support the legislation last summer.
McCain, the Republican party's 2008 Presidential nominee, made headlines by picking Palin, at the time a little known governor of Alaska, as his running mate.
In her posting, Palin was open about her policy differences with McCain on immigration and the federal debt, saying, "It goes without saying we don’t all agree on all political issues."
But Palin, who enjoys strong support from many tea party activists and other grassroots conservatives, praised McCain for his "steadfastness in demanding truth in the White House’s Benghazi cover-up.”
And she criticized the censure move by the Arizona GOP, saying, "It's perplexing to see Senator McCain’s good efforts to uncover the Obama agenda being ignored and perhaps even hindered now by those wanting to censure the Arizona Senator. Despite our differences on some other issues, there is no questioning Senator McCain’s dedication to national security in spite of the White House’s agenda."
McCain, 77, hasn't ruled out making a bid for a sixth term in 2016. He told NBC's Jay Leno that he's still "looking very seriously" at another campaign.
The Arizona Republican easily held his seat in the 2010 general election against Democrat challenger Rodney Glassman, after beating back a primary challenge earlier that year from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
