First, at issue are
primary races, when Democrats are running against other Democrats for the nomination.
Second, only two Republicans are involved.
Also, there is complimentary language, but no endorsement for a Senate seat in a race against a Republican. And, in one case, it is not so much an endorsement as a contribution of all of $250 (though noteworthy because it came from Coburn).
I don't know about you, but an endorsement from a Republican officeholder in a Democratic primary is only going to make me lean toward the other Democrat. At a minimum, I am going to investigate any Democrat endorsed by a Republican politician more closely than usual before I cast my primary vote.
Rep. Don Young, Alaska’s at-large representative who has served 20 terms in the House, taped a campaign video with Rep. Mazie Hirono, a three-term Democrat running for Hawaii’s open seat in the Senate.
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Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is also under fire for donating $250 to the reelection campaign of Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia.
“He votes thinking about the long-term interests of the country,” Coburn told The Hill newspaper. “We don’t agree on everything but he’s a good guy.”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/07/republicans-endorse-democrats-in-senate-races/Also, I would not be the least surprised if this were not a ploy because D.C. Republicans are being attacked for being overly partisan, putting Party above country to block everything.