George LeMieux, Adam Hasner and Mike Haridopolos

Though it is more than a year in the future, the Republican primary to challenge Democrat Bill Nelson for his U.S. Senate seat in 2012 heated up Thursday when three of the leading candidates exchanged shots over the federal budget proposal backed by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.

With Republican candidate Mike Haridopolos in trouble with conservatives over his mixed messages on whether he supports the Ryan budget, the team behind primary rival Adam Hasner continued to pound away Thursday -- and added a shot at former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux to boot.

"It took Senator Mike Haridopolos and Senator George LeMieux more than a week to give a straight answer about the only plan in Washington that would cut spending, reform entitlements and save Medicare," said Rick Wilson, a campaign adviser and spokesman for Hasner.

"That's not leadership; it's the typical finger-in-the-wind politics that define Washington today. What's worse, after being pushed around by the media, Senator Haridopolos chose to side with Bill Nelson and Barack Obama to undercut conservatives on the Ryan Plan and defend the status quo in Washington. Adam Hasner is the only Republican who can be trusted to stand fearlessly for conservative principles, no matter how challenging the issues."

The Hasner team also pointed to a radio interview Haridopolos did Tuesday on the Ray Junior show, where the Senate president did not offer a clear answer to whether he would back the Ryan plan -- prompting the host to hang up on him.

Hasner’s camp sent out an e-mail to supporters Thursday afternoon with a video replaying the interview.