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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson has won the endorsement of the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police.

Group president Jimmy Mixon said Thursday that the organization overwhelmingly voted at a recent meeting to give its support to the Republican running for his fifth full term.

Mixon says Wilson has always been a strong supporter of law enforcement in South Carolina.

Wilson says he is honored by the endorsement and called local law officers the first line of defense in the global war on terror.

Wilson is running against Democrat Rob Miller in a rematch of the 2008 race.

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