Report: Former GOP Sen. Hagel backing Democrat in Pennsylvania Senate race

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) will endorse Pennsylvania Senate candidate Joe Sestak (D) at events  Tuesday in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. 

Hagel told the Associated Press on Monday that Sestak has demonstrated he “puts what’s best for the country before the interests of his party.”

Hagel became an outspoken critic of the GOP before he retired from the Senate in 2008. He declined to endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president and remained neutral. He was even floated as a possible vice-presidential pick for President Obama.  

Hagel, a veteran of the Vietnam War, now serves as president of the Defense Policy Board, a bipartisan board that advises the Pentagon.

–Updated at 1:55 p.m.