Chuck Hagel Endorses Joe Sestak
Politico reports that former senator Chuck Hagel is endorsing Joe Sestak in his race for the Pennsylvania senate seat:
Pennsylvania Democrat Joe Sestak’s campaign for Senate is getting a much-needed bipartisan boost in a competitive race.
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) will endorse the Democratic nominee at events in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on Tuesday, according to Sestak’s campaign.
Sestak faces former Rep. Pat Toomey in November, and recent polls show him lagging behind the Republican nominee. Sestak needs to shore up support from independents and Republicans in order to win the seat currently occupied by the man he defeated in the Democratic primary, Sen. Arlen Specter, a former Republican himself.
The feelings appear to be mutual between Sestak and Hagel. In a forum earlier this month, Sestak called Hagel the “No. 1 guy I’ve met” in the Senate.
“I talk to him probably every couple weeks,” Sestak said on Aug. 3. “I think he is the guy who I most admired in the Senate.”
Hagel, who decided not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2008, has a reputation for bucking his own party. He declined to endorse Arizona Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential contest, and his wife went a step further by backing Barack Obama.
