With days left before the midterm elections, Democratic candidates in Texas and Iowa are running ads built around endorsements from self-identified Republicans. But voting histories and campaign finance records reviewed by Breitbart News show several of those endorsers have long records of voting in Democratic primaries, donating to Democratic candidates, or backing Democrats in past races.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is challenging Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for the U.S. Senate seat. His campaign’s “Republicans Pass on Paxton” ad features five former Republican officeholders calling Paxton corrupt and endorsing Talarico.
Former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley called Paxton “the most corrupt politician Texas has ever seen” and said, “I’m ashamed that Ken Paxton is even on the ballot.” Former GOP state Rep. Alan Steelman said, “Ken Paxton is just far too corrupt for Texas.” Former Ennis Mayor Russell Thomas noted Paxton “has been impeached by his own party.”
The same men praised Talarico. Former state Rep. Bennett Ratliff called him “by far, without a doubt, the best person in the race,” and former state Rep. Todd Smith described him as “extremely genuine” with “very high moral character.”
“We need to support the best person, not look at their party label, not look at what Jersey they’re wearing, but who is going to represent us,” Ratliff said.
But Breitbart News reports that Steelman voted in Democratic primaries in both 2024 and 2026, and that Smith has voted Democrat in two of the last four elections.
On Friday, Talarico’s campaign released a separate video featuring former Republican state Rep. Jason Villalba, who in 2024 backed Democrat Colin Allred’s unsuccessful Senate bid against Sen. Ted Cruz. In the new ad, Villalba calls himself “a classic Ronald Reagan Republican” and says of Paxton, “Ken Paxton was not one of them,” referring to legislators he respected.
A 2024 Texas Scorecard report titled “‘Republicans for Allred’ Coalition Stacked With Former GOP Losers” listed Villalba, Ratliff and Smith among Republicans who backed Allred that year. That coalition was led by former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, with Villalba as co-chair; Kinzinger and other members also endorsed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024. Villalba lost his own 2018 primary and a 2019 Dallas mayoral race; Smith lost a state Senate bid; Ratliff lost GOP primaries in 2014 and 2016.
Talarico’s campaign has also faced scrutiny over three women it earlier promoted as Republican supporters. The Daily Wire reported in August that Mindy McClure, who called herself a “moderate Republican,” had donated through ActBlue since 2018 to Democratic campaigns and groups including Harris’s 2024 run and the Lincoln Project. A Republican source said another supporter, Erin Montgomery, hadn’t voted in a GOP primary since at least 2017 and had cast more Democratic than Republican primary ballots over two decades. A Talarico spokesperson told Fox News the women had no official campaign role. Whitley, featured in the latest ad, had previously endorsed both Harris and Allred in 2024.
Iowa’s Third District
A similar pattern has surfaced in Iowa, where Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott is running against Republican Rep. Zach Nunn. At a Wednesday event in Urbandale, Trone Garriott appeared with self-described Republican supporters.
“I voted for Zach Nunn last go-around and was very disappointed in promises unkept,” Lee Prince told KCCI. Roger Garrett said, “I am a lifelong Republican, but this year I’m voting for Sarah, and I’m encouraging all of you to vote for Sarah.”
Breitbart News reports Prince hasn’t voted in a Republican primary since 2016 and has previously donated to Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. Garrett, meanwhile, has donated to Trone Garriott four times since 2020, totaling $350: $100 in October 2020, $150 in February 2022, and two $50 contributions in May and August 2022 — support that predates this year’s race by years.
Nunn’s campaign has run its own crossover ad, featuring Des Moines City Council members Mike Simonson and Joe Gatto, Clive City Council member Eric Klein, and victims’ rights advocate Tiffany Allison, all of whom identify as Democrats. “I’m a moderate Democrat on Des Moines City Council,” Simonson said. “I’m not voting for Sarah Trone Garriott,” Gatto said, while the ad’s narrator calls her “too extreme.” Simonson added that he supports Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand while also backing Nunn.
Axios Des Moines reported the endorsements from Simonson and Gatto drew backlash from fellow Democrats, including a pledge to cut off future financial support to them. The outlet also noted Simonson had been listed among Trone Garriott’s local endorsers as recently as December 2025 and had donated $7,500 to her that year. Des Moines City Council member Carl Voss has endorsed Trone Garriott.
Nunn campaign spokesman Mark Matava told Axios, “Republicans, Democrats, and Independents support Zach Nunn because they know he delivers for Iowa.”
