Here are the Republicans backing Democratic candidates in the midterms

Republican Endorsements Give Democrats an Unusual Midterm Advantage

Provpnadvice.com – With control of the House and Senate at stake in November, a growing group of prominent Republicans is choosing to support Democratic candidates rather than their own party’s nominees. The endorsements remain limited in number, but they carry particular weight because they come from former governors, party officials and past Republican candidates willing to publicly break ranks.

The pattern is especially visible in competitive Senate contests, where dissatisfaction with President Trump, party priorities and individual candidates has prompted several Republicans to make unusually direct appeals to voters. Democrats are widely expected to regain the House, while the Senate is increasingly viewed as potentially within reach as well.

There is a notable exception to the broader trend: outgoing Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine is backing Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York in Lawler’s reelection campaign. Still, Republican endorsements of Democrats have been more common in this election cycle, unfolding as Trump’s approval ratings decline.

Kansas Republicans Rally Behind Adam Hamilton

Kansas has produced some of the clearest examples of cross-party support. Former Gov. Bill Graves endorsed Democrat Adam Hamilton in his challenge to Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican. Hamilton, a Methodist minister with a strong public profile, is seeking to unseat Marshall in a contest that has drawn increased attention in recent months.

Graves governed Kansas from 1995 through 2003 and remains the state’s longest-serving Republican governor. He announced his decision in a video shared on X, portraying Hamilton as a candidate guided by service and compassion.

“For the last six years, Sen. Roger Marshall has turned his back on Kansas,” Graves said, adding that Hamilton “stands as a bulwark of kindness” and service to others.

This is not Graves’s first departure from party preference. He backed Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in both 2018 and 2022, and Kelly won each of those elections. His support for Hamilton continues a record of judging statewide candidates individually rather than treating party affiliation as decisive.

Former Kansas Gov. Mike Hayden, another Republican, also endorsed Hamilton. Hayden served from 1987 to 1991 and argued that Hamilton could bring attention to constituent concerns, relief and practical solutions. A Democrat has not held the Kansas Senate seat at issue for nearly 100 years, underscoring the scale of the political challenge Hamilton faces.

“I ran for office for the first time when I was only 28 years old because I felt the person representing my community in the legislature was failing to fight for the needs of our state,” Hayden said. “Today, I am endorsing Adam Hamilton for the U.S. Senate for the same reasons.”

Marshall is still projected to win the race, but Kansas has become a contest worth watching in an electoral environment expected to be more favorable to Democrats. The support from two former Republican governors does not change the state’s partisan history by itself, yet it gives Hamilton a way to address voters who may be open to an alternative without abandoning their broader political identity.

Former Marshall primary challenger Chris Naramore has likewise endorsed Hamilton. Naramore said he remains a Republican, but faulted Marshall over his backing of Trump’s tariffs and questions surrounding Marshall’s Kansas residency. He emphasized Hamilton’s deep ties to the state and long career outside elective office.

“Adam Hamilton’s family has been in Kansas for five generations,” Naramore said. “He spent more than 40 years as a pastor, not a politician. He will fight for all of us: Republicans, Democrats and Ind”

Georgia Endorsements Focus on Individual Candidates

In Georgia, Republican support has emerged for Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democrat seeking another term. Donald Chase, the Republican chair of the Georgia Peanut Commission, endorsed Ossoff for reelection and framed his decision as a matter of confidence in a candidate rather than loyalty to a political organization.

“We don’t necessarily elect a party,” Chase said. “I like to support people that I can get behind and believe in.”

Julie Smith, the Republican mayor of Tifton, and Scott James Matheson, the Republican mayor of Valdosta, have also aligned themselves with Ossoff. Their involvement highlights the local dimension of such endorsements: municipal leaders may place particular value on access, responsiveness and the ability to work across political divisions.

Former Sen. Jeff Flake, a longtime Republican critic of Trump, has endorsed Ossoff as well. Flake has repeatedly criticized Trump’s conduct, including the refusal to concede the 2020 election, which he called “awful for the country.” He also objected to attacks on the press during Trump’s first term and supported former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024.

Ossoff is running against Republican Rep. Mike Collins. Forecasters expect the contest to favor Democrats, but the Republican endorsements offer Ossoff an additional argument for voters who want to separate their assessment of a Senate candidate from their views about national party politics.

A Secretary of State Race Tests Party Loyalty

Another cross-party endorsement has appeared in a race to succeed an outgoing Republican secretary of state. After losing the GOP nomination to a primary challenger in June, the departing officeholder, Johnson, endorsed Democrat Terrence Davis.

Johnson urged voters to look beyond the party label and argued that Davis was better prepared to manage the office’s responsibilities. The endorsement centered on issues directly tied to election administration and the functioning of government.

“He has publicly identified transparency, voting rights and making government systems work for the people who use them as priorities of his candidacy,” Johnson said. “Those areas have a direct connection to the work of the secretary of state’s office.”

These endorsements do not erase the powerful role of party affiliation in American elections. They do, however, show that fractures within the Republican coalition are becoming visible in public, particularly where former officials believe their party’s nominee does not reflect their priorities. For Democrats, the support creates an opening to make a broader case to independents and dissatisfied Republicans. For voters, it is a reminder that even in highly partisan midterms, individual candidates can still draw support from outside their own party.