Midterm Candidates Court Cross-Party Voters as November Nears

Democratic and Republican candidates are actively courting voters from the opposing party in the final stretch of the midterm cycle.

This trend has accelerated in recent weeks as campaigns in several states highlight support from rival officials. 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 backing for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton in September and October, respectively. Texas Democrats also reported that more than two dozen former GOP officials have endorsed U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico.

One of those recent endorsements came from Kel Seliger, a former GOP state senator. Seliger chose to support Talarico over the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton. Seliger explained his decision by citing his service history with both men. “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 strategists argue that crossover support is a two-way street in this election year. Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to specific contests in Michigan and Texas. She cited the “Democrats for Mike Rogers” coalition as evidence that Democrats are also crossing over to support Republican candidates like Michigan’s Mike Rogers.

Political scientist Joshua Blank, Research Director at the Texas Politics Project, noted that while these endorsements generate media attention, their statistical weight is often modest. Blank explained that cross-party voting usually involves a small share of the electorate rather than large blocs of voters switching sides. “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. “We’re ultimately talking about what are kind of idiosyncratic behaviors they’re going to take place among a small, small share of the electorate. Now, if the elections close, this could really matter.”

Recent polling data indicates that several midterm races have tightened in the final weeks before the November vote. In some of these contests, the margin of error has placed the candidates within a statistical tie, making every potential crossover voter a factor in the final count.