Alaska and Kansas GOP leaders back Democratic rivals

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins on Tuesday. This move marks a shift in strategy for the final stretch of the campaign. Murkowski is the first sitting member of Congress to back a Democrat from the opposing party in this cycle.

The trend extends to other states with competitive elections. In Kansas, former Republican governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden announced their support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton. Graves made his endorsement in September, while Hayden joined in October. Both men had previously served as state leaders under the Republican banner.

Texas politics shows a similar pattern. The campaign for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico reported that more than two dozen former GOP officials have endorsed him. Kel Seliger, a former Republican state senator, added his name to the list this week. Seliger chose Talarico over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Seliger explained his decision by comparing the two candidates. “I’ve served with both people,” Seliger said. “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. 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 are also seeking support from Democrats. Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary for the RNC, pointed to the coalition known as Democrats for Mike Rogers. That group supports Republican candidate Mike Rogers in Michigan. Baldassarre said the cycle is seeing cross-party voting in races like Michigan and Texas.

Joshua Blank, the research director for the Texas Politics Project, offered a cautious view of these endorsements. He noted 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 added that the effect is idiosyncratic but could matter if races are close.

Recent polling indicates that several midterm races are statistically tied. Candidates will continue to promote these bipartisan endorsements through the final days before voters head to the polls.