EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado — A Republican and a Democrat running for the same state Senate seat have won an endorsement from a bipartisan environmental group.

Democrat Ken Brenner, of Steamboat Springs, and Republican Al White, of Hayden, were endorsed by the Colorado Conservation Voters, a nonpartisan group dedicated to electing “environmental candidates.”

Announced Wednesday, the co-endorsement was unusual, but Colorado Conservation Voters supports both White and Brenner because they have “strong conservation records” as elected officials, said Carrie Doyle, executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters, in a statement.

“It would be great if all Colorado voters had the same guarantee on election day — an elected official, regardless of party affiliation, who supports conservation policies,” Doyle said in the statement.

White and Brenner are running for the Senate District 8 seat being vacated by term-limited Republican Jack Taylor, of Steamboat.

In the state House, White voted “pro-environment” 91 percent of the time in 2008, according to Colorado Conservation Voters.

Brenner has protected western Colorado’s water and almost 10,000 acres around Emerald Mountain, in northwest Colorado, from development, according to the group.