Former Republican governors and senators endorse Democrat Senate and gubernatorial candidates

More than two dozen former Republican officials have endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico in Texas, according to his campaign. This figure includes Kel Seliger, a former GOP state senator, who joined the endorsement list this week. Seliger chose to support Talarico rather than his party's nominee, Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Seliger explained his decision by contrasting the two candidates' expected styles of governance. “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,” Seliger said.

Similar cross-party support has emerged in other states. In Alaska, Republican Senator 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. Graves made his announcement in September, while Hayden followed in October.

Republican officials also expect voters to cross party lines in their favor. Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the Republican National Committee, pointed to specific contests where this might occur. “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,” Baldassarre said. She also cited a campaign coalition known as “Democrats for Mike Rogers” as evidence of this trend.

Despite the volume of endorsements, political scientists suggest the impact may be limited. Joshua Blank, Research Director of the Texas Politics Project, noted that cross-party voting usually involves idiosyncratic behavior among 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. “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.”

However, Blank added that these shifts could become decisive if the margins are narrow. Recent polling indicates that several midterm races have tightened, with some now statistically tied. Candidates in these races continue to promote their bipartisan appeal as election day approaches.

The trend has gained traction in the final days of the election season. While the scale of cross-party support remains modest compared to the total electorate, the specific endorsements have become a central part of campaign messaging in Alaska, Kansas, and Texas.