Bipartisan endorsements flood midterm races

Democratic and Republican candidates in several states are actively courting voters from the opposing party as the November elections approach. Over the past few weeks, campaigns have highlighted endorsements from former officials of the other party to demonstrate broad appeal. These moves occur as recent polling indicates that several key races have narrowed to statistical ties.

The push for cross-party support has accelerated in the final days of the campaign season. In Alaska, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on Tuesday. In Kansas, former Republican governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden announced their support for Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton in September and October. In Texas, the campaign for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico reported that more than two dozen former Republican officials have joined the endorsement list.

One of the latest supporters in Texas is Kel Seliger, a former state senator. Seliger chose to back Talarico rather than the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Seliger noted that he has served with both men in the past. “James Talarico is not some wild-eyed socialist,” Seliger said. “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 also expect crossover voting to influence the results. Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to specific contests where she sees this dynamic at play. She cited the race in Michigan between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed, as well as the Texas Senate contest between Paxton and Talarico. Baldassarre also mentioned a coalition called “Democrats for Mike Rogers” as an example of this trend.

Political scientists suggest that while these endorsements generate attention, their impact on the final vote count is often modest. Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Politics Project, explained that cross-party voting typically involves 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. He added that these behaviors are idiosyncratic but can be decisive if the margins of victory are extremely narrow.

The next scheduled step in these elections is the November vote, where these small shifts in voter behavior may determine the outcome in closely contested districts.