Hastert endorsed Brady over the son of his close friend and colleague, Rep. Tom Ewing, who is retiring after this term. Ewing's son, Sam Ewing, will compete against Brady, who is currently a representative in the Illinois House of Representatives, in the Republican primary on March 21. Hastert publicly announced he would support Brady in the election last January at a press conference in Champaign.
Endorsements come in many forms and from many different sources.
Technically, an endorsement is support for a candidate given by a well-known individual or a group. It is often publicized with a press conference or a press release and is published in campaign advertisements. Endorsements can come from labor unions, from individual politicians or political parties, from single-issue groups that concentrate on subjects like education or from newspaper editorials. Hastert's endorsement came as a surprise to many Republicans, but not only because of Rep. Ewing and Hastert's friendship, said former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. The second part was that Hastert got involved in the election this early.