BOSTON — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who recently announced she would not seek another term, has formally endorsed fellow Republican Scott Brown for re-election in Massachusetts.

In a statement released Thursday, Snowe credited Brown for his bipartisan approach. She called Brown “a much-needed breath of fresh air” in a Senate that Snowe said had become “characterized by gridlock and partisanship.”

Snowe cited those frustrations in her decision to leave the Senate.

Brown’s chief Democratic rival is Harvard Law School professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren.