NASHVILLE — In a four-page letter distributed by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s campaign, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee asks Tennesseans to “pray for Lamar, vote for Lamar and fill out the enclosed envelope and send it back with $10 or $15 or whatever amount you can afford.

“I don’t get to vote in Tennessee. But if I did, I wouldn’t hesitate, and I wouldn’t listen to any distractions,” says Huckabee in the fundraising solicitation.

The mailing comes a couple of days after state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, announced Tuesday a challenge to Alexander in the 2014 primary and with tea party groups complaining that Alexander has not signed a pledge to “defund Obamacare.”

In the letter, Huckabee praises Alexander at length in many areas.

In subject matter, it rambles from Alexander’s early inauguration as governor in 1979 — an event that caused him to seek out Alexander as a “mentor” when Huckabee suddenly became governor following his predecessor’s conviction on felony charges — to Huckabee’s gratitude over winning the state’s GOP presidential primary in 2008 and reflection on what might have been had he won the national contest as well.

“When I was governor of Arkansas, we did not have a Republican United States senator, so I used to ask Lamar Alexander if he would mind moving a little west and being Arkansas’ other senator. I needed somebody I could talk to, somebody who is a conservative, and someone who understands — as Ronald Reagan did — how to govern,” the letter begins.

Huckabee, who now hosts a TV talk show, is no stranger to Tennessee Republicans. Last year, he spoke at the state GOP’s “Statesman’s Dinner” fundraiser and campaigned actively for U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann.

Alexander, has had considerable fundraising success already. At last report, he had about $3.1 million cash on hand compared to about $275,000 for Carr.