Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.) has secured the backing of freshman Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) in his campaign for an open Senate seat.

In a lengthy statement distributed by Kirk’s campaign, Schock praised Kirk’s votes against Democratic-written economic stimulus and health care bills and said that Kirk’s backing of free trade agreements would be beneficial to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors in Schock’s Peoria-area 18th district.

“Mark Kirk’s election will once again make the U.S. Senate the world’s greatest deliberative body instead of the fast track to ruin it has become this year,” Schock said. “His election will be a safeguard for the American people by taking away the crucial 60 vote margin for one-party rule.”