In the waning days of the battle for the House, both Democrats and Republicans in tough races are using members of the other party to bolster their bipartisan credentials.
Republicans for Democrats: This week, Democrat Janelle Stelson launched “Republicans for Janelle” in her 10th District race against Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.). Stelson was endorsed by multiple former GOP lawmakers like Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Barbara Comstock (Va.). Perry dismissed the push as irrelevant to the voters in the district.
In Nebraska’s 2nd District, Democrat Tony Vargas started running an ad featuring the praise of registered Republicans who had previously supported Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
Democrat Curtis Hertel, who’s facing Republican Tom Barrett in Michigan’s 7th District, has a group labeled “Republicans and independents for Hertel” backing him. Former 7th District Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.) is among Hertel’s supporters.
John Avlon, who’s challenging Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), unveiled a group of GOP backers last month including former New York GOP Rep. Susan Molinari.
Along with Kinzinger, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) is a prominent surrogate for down-ballot Democrats this fall. Cheney is campaigning for Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in their high-profile Senate campaigns. Both Cheney and Kinzinger served on the Jan. 6 select committee.
Democrats for Republicans: Republicans running in competitive seats are also increasingly turning to highlighting Democratic voices in campaign messaging.
Bacon has touted Ann Ashford’s endorsement in his race versus Vargas. Ashford’s late husband, former Rep. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.), held the seat from 2015 to 2017.
Derek Merrin, who’s looking to unseat Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), is up with an ad featuring a Democratic union member backing the GOP candidate. The NRCC has a spot running in favor of Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) featuring a Democrat saying Janelle Bynum’s crime policies scare him.
The Congressional Leadership Fund has also run a spot featuring a former Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) voter pledging to never support the incumbent again due to his immigration stance.
One major difference between the Democratic and GOP messaging is that there isn’t a comparable wave of former Democratic elected officials endorsing Republicans this cycle.
