Murkowski's endorsement adds weight to final push for cross-party votes

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in Alaska on Tuesday. The move marks the latest effort by midterm contenders to court voters who traditionally align with the opposing party.

Similar strategies are unfolding in other swing states. In Kansas, former Republican governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden announced support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton in September and October. In Texas, the campaign for Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico claims more than two dozen former GOP officials have backed him. Kel Seliger, a former GOP state senator, joined Talarico's coalition this week rather than supporting Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

"I've served with both people," Seliger said. "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. 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 officials note they are employing the same tactic. Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the RNC, pointed to the race in Michigan between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed. She cited the existence of a group called "Democrats for Mike Rogers" as evidence that crossover voting is occurring in key contests.

Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project, cautioned that these endorsements may not shift the overall outcome. He noted that cross-party voting usually involves only a small share of the electorate. "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. "We're ultimately talking about what are kind of idiosyncratic behaviors they're going to take place among a small, small share of the electorate," he added, noting that such votes could matter if races are close.

Recent polling indicates that several midterm contests have tightened, with some now statistically tied. Candidates will continue to promote these bipartisan endorsements in the final days before the election.