Former Sen. Bob Kerrey, running against state Sen. Deb Fischer for a Nebraska Senate seat, will get a boost from another former Nebraska senator—Chuck Hagel, a Republican,
the Omaha World-Herald reported.
Hagel will cross party lines and endorse the Democrat Kerrey, who is trailing in polls.
Hagel’s endorsement comes as Fischer has watched her once double-digit lead wither to three points. Hagel, like Kerrey, is a former Vietnam War veteran and the two are old friends and served in the Senate together.
Hagel, who lives in Virginia and teaches at Georgetown University, has a reputation for bucking his party and was mentioned as a White House hopeful during the 2008 primaries. He called the Iraq War the “worst blunder since Vietnam.”
Republicans were quick to dismiss Hagel’s endorsement.
“They have long been friends; it’s not a surprise,” Nebraska GOP chairman Mark Fahleson told the World-Herald. “It’s just another out-of-touch, longtime Washington insider endorsing another out-of-touch Washington insider.”
Fischer will be joined by another Vietnam veteran at a rally on Friday, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is also a friend of Hagel and Kerrey, the World-Herald reported.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.