Alaska, Kansas, and Texas races feature cross-party endorsements

Republican officials in Alaska, Kansas, and Texas publicly backed Democratic opponents in the lead-up to the November midterms.

In Alaska, Senate Republican 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. The campaign for Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in Texas stated that more than two dozen former Republican officials have joined his endorsement list this week.

Kel Seliger, a former Republican state senator in Texas, chose to endorse Talarico over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Seliger explained that he has served with both men and views Talarico as honest and direct. He stated that Talarico is not a wild-eyed socialist and will act in the best interest of Texas rather than for Elon Musk.

Republican Party leaders indicated they anticipate similar crossover voting for their own candidates. Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to the race in Michigan between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed, as well as the Texas contest. She cited the existence of the coalition Democrats for Mike Rogers as evidence of this trend.

Joshua Blank, a research director at the Texas Politics Project, cautioned that cross-party voting usually involves small numbers of voters. He described the behavior as idiosyncratic and limited to a small share of the electorate, noting that it typically does not change the outcome of an election.

Blank added that the support could matter if the races remain close. Recent polling shows several midterm contests have become tight, with some statistically tied. The final results are scheduled for November.

The endorsements and campaign statements highlight a strategy to appeal to voters outside the traditional party base. Candidates in these states continue to promote their bipartisan support in the final days of the election season.