(CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has scored the endorsement of Bob Dole, who lauded the former Massachusetts governor in an ad Sunday in Iowa's The Des Moines Register newspaper. The public endorsement comes one day after the Register -- Iowa's largest newspaper -- backed Romney in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and just over two weeks before Iowa's critical presidential caucuses on January 3. In his advertisement, Dole said Romney is the GOP candidate is best suited to defeat President Barack Obama in 2012. "I've known Mitt and his family for decades. His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic, rock-solid conservative values, and a deep sense of service to others," the former Kansas senator and 1996 GOP presidential nominee wrote. "These traits -- which have shone through in both the debates and in my own visits with him -- will serve him well in the White House."The two endorsements come about two weeks before the Iowa caucusBob Dole and The Des Moines Register's editorial board praise Mitt Romney's credentialsThe paper's support is coveted, but a number of previous picks have not won the White HouseRomney earlier won the endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
On Friday, Romney garnered a nod from South Carolina _ Gov.