Midterm candidates court opponents' party members in final days

Candidates in several key states are spending their final campaign days promoting support from the opposing party. The strategy aims to signal that these races are not just about partisan loyalty but about specific policy choices. However, political experts caution that this crossover appeal rarely changes the final outcome of an election.

In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on Tuesday. In Kansas, former Republican governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden announced their backing for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton in September and October. In Texas, the campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico reported that more than two dozen former GOP officials have signed on.

Kel Seliger, a former GOP state senator, added his name to the Talarico endorsement list this week. He chose Talarico over the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Seliger explained his decision by noting he had served with both men.

“James Talarico is not some wild-eyed socialist and and he may believe in a lot of things that Democratic Party believes in that I don’t. But I think he’s going to be honest. And I think he’s going to be frank and direct,” Seliger said. “I think that the things that he does are going to be what is best for Texas. Not what’s best for Elon Musk.”

Republican Party officials are pushing a similar narrative. Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to the “Democrats for Mike Rogers” coalition supporting the Michigan Senate race. She cited that race and the Texas contest as evidence of widespread cross-party interest in this cycle.

Joshua Blank, the Research Director for the Texas Politics Project, noted that while the endorsements are real, their impact is usually limited. “We’re not talking about a large group of Republicans crossing party lines to vote for Democrats, or a large group of Democrats possibly crossing party lines to vote for Republicans,” Blank said. He described the phenomenon as an idiosyncratic behavior affecting only a small share of the electorate.

Blank added that the strategy could make a difference if the elections are close. Recent polling shows several midterm races have tightened, with some now statistically tied.