Two dozen GOP officials back Texas Senate Democrat
Cross-party endorsements are increasing in key states, though researchers caution that the impact on final vote counts may be limited.
By Nadia Khalil ·
Democratic candidates in multiple states are citing recent endorsements from Republican officials as they approach the November election.
The trend accelerated in the final weeks of the campaign season. 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 support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton in September and October, respectively.
In Texas, the campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico reported that more than two dozen former GOP officials have backed him. Kel Seliger, a former Republican state senator, joined the endorsement list this week. He chose Talarico over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Seliger explained his decision by noting his history of serving with both candidates. "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," 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 Party officials expect similar crossover support for their nominees. Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to races in Michigan and Texas. She highlighted the coalition "Democrats for Mike Rogers" as evidence of cross-party voting for the GOP candidate against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, said the effect of these endorsements is usually small. "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 behavior as idiosyncratic and limited to a small share of the electorate.
Blank noted that the impact could be larger if races are close. Recent polling indicates several midterm contests have become statistically tied.
