Midterm candidates point to cross-party endorsements in push for votes
Republican and Democratic nominees cite support from out-of-party officials, while a Texas researcher notes the impact on final results is often small.
By Fernando Rojas ·
Democratic and Republican nominees across several states are emphasizing support from officials on the other side of the aisle as the midterm election approaches.
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 in September and October that they are backing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton.
The Texas race for U.S. Senate has seen similar activity. The campaign for Democratic candidate James Talarico stated that more than two dozen former GOP officials have endorsed him. Kel Seliger, a former GOP state senator, joined that list this week rather than supporting the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Seliger explained his decision by saying he has served with both men. "James Talarico is not some wild-eyed socialist 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 report seeing similar crossover support 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. She also cited a coalition called "Democrats for Mike Rogers" as evidence of this trend.
Joshua Blank, the Research Director for the Texas Politics Project, said that cross-party voting usually 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 described the behavior as idiosyncratic but noted that it could matter if elections are close.
Recent polling indicates that some midterm races have become statistically tied.
Source: WSMV-TV · original report published
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