BUENA PARK, Calif. (Legal Newsline)- California attorney general candidate John Eastman on Sunday got conservatives' seal of approval, winning the endorsement of the California Republican Assembly.

The conservative grassroots organization is backing Eastman in the Republican primary to succeed Democrat Jerry Brown as the Golden State's next chief legal officer.

"The CRA has long been the benchmark by which Republican Primary candidates are measured," Eastman said in a statement. "That's why I'm so proud to have picked up their endorsement today."

Earning the CRA endorsement, Eastman handily beat out state Sen. Tom Harman of Huntington Beach and Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

In the balloting, Eastman received 197 votes, while Harman won 40 votes and Cooley 8 votes.

"With today's overwhelming endorsement of John Eastman for attorney general, the CRA has spoken loudly and clearly about who the best candidate is to represent our conservative values and turn our state around," CRA President Ken Mettler said.

The California Republican Assembly was dubbed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan as the "conscience of the Republican Party."

Eastman, the former dean of the Chapman University Law School, has strong conservative bona fides, serving as a leader within the Federalist Society and a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

He recently had a fundraiser held for him in Washington by some of the nation's leading conservatives, including former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III, former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett and U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., among others.

At its 75th annual convention, CRA also endorsed gubernatorial hopeful Steve Poizner and U.S. Senate candidate Chuck DeVore.

From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.