Washington candidates court cross-party endorsements as races tighten

Candidates in several midterm races are promoting endorsements from officials and voters of the opposing party, a strategy political scientists say involves a small share of the electorate.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins in Alaska on Tuesday. In Kansas, former Republican governors Bill Graves and Mike Hayden announced endorsements in September and October for 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 GOP state senator, endorsed Talarico this week over the Republican candidate, Attorney General Ken Paxton. "I've served with both people," Seliger said. "James Talarico is not some wild-eyed socialist.. 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 also expect cross-party support. "I do think you're seeing that this cycle, especially in races like in Michigan with Mike Rogers against Abdul El-Sayed, and in Texas with Ken Paxton against James Talarico," said Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the Republican National Committee. Baldassarre cited the coalition "Democrats for Mike Rogers."

Joshua Blank, Texas Politics Project research director, said such voting patterns involve a limited number of people. "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 become increasingly close and, in some cases, statistically tied.