Candidates court cross-party endorsements
Officials from both parties are backing candidates in Alaska, Kansas, Michigan and Texas, while political scientists question how much such support moves voters.
By Alejandro Ruiz ·
Republican officials and former officeholders are appearing alongside Democratic candidates in several states as midterm campaigns near their close, a pattern both parties are promoting in the final stretch.
In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on Oct. 27. In Kansas, former Republican Govs. Bill Graves and Mike Hayden said in September and October they are supporting Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton.
In Texas, the campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said more than two dozen former GOP officials have endorsed him. Kel Seliger, a former Republican state senator, joined that list this week rather than backing Republican candidate and Attorney General Ken Paxton. "I've served with both people," Seliger said. "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. 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 say they expect voters to cross party lines for their candidates as well. Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to Michigan's contest between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed, and the Texas race between Paxton and Talarico. Baldassarre also cited a group called Democrats for Mike Rogers.
Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, said the number of voters who switch parties in a given race is 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. "Now, if the elections close, this could really matter."
Recent polling has found some midterm races have grown closer and, in some cases, are statistically tied.
Source: WBRC FOX6 · original report published
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