WASHINGTON (AP) — A hard-right conservative group led by former Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun is endorsing a Republican who is trying to oust three-term GOP Sen. Pat Roberts.

The Madison Project said Thursday that it was backing Dr. Milton Wolf over Roberts, the blunt-spoken conservative who was elected to the Senate in 1996 after eight terms in the House and has never gotten less than 60 percent of the vote in his heartland state. The organization, which has backed challengers to Republican incumbents in Kentucky and Mississippi, said Wolf will provide the necessary leadership.