Mike Johnson's ex-GOP colleagues become his big headache

The latest: On Monday, former Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), Dave Trott (R-Mich.) and Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) endorsed Democrat Janelle Stelson in a letter first reported by Axios.

• The former lawmakers slammed Stelson's opponent, former Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.), for his right-wing voting record and involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
• "We know how difficult it is to vote for a member of the other political party, but having known and worked with Scott Perry, we urge our fellow Republicans to join us in supporting his opponent," they wrote.

Zoom in: Comstock spearheaded the letter and has been particularly active in supporting down-ballot Democrats, endorsing Suhas Subramanyam and Eugene Vindman in their bids for House seats in Virginia.

• She appeared at an event for Vindman and other Democratic candidates in Virginia on Sunday, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) praising her as "such an American patriot."
• Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) thanked Comstock for "honoring the oath that she's previously taken to our Constitution ... and for supporting people like Eugene."
• Another increasingly prolific endorser of congressional Democrats is former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is backing Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) and John Avlon, the Democrat running against Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.).

Between the lines: Cheney has gone as far as to publicly spar with Johnson — her onetime deputy when she was House GOP Conference chair — and cast him as essentially unfit to be House speaker.

• Cheney said in a "Meet the Press" interview earlier in October that she does "not have faith that Mike Johnson will fulfill his constitutional obligations" if he is Speaker on Jan. 6, when the House is scheduled to certify presidential electors.
• Cheney and Johnson engaged in a tense text exchange about Cheney's remarks, which Johnson called "very uncharitable," Axios first reported.

What they're saying: Democrats in battleground districts view these GOP endorsements — and the "Republicans for X" groups they get to form as a result — as critical assets for winning over swing voters.

• "Any endorsement that puts preserving our democracy over partisan politics is a valuable one," Wild told Axios in a statement.
• She added: "I am proud to receive votes from Democrats, Republicans and independents every cycle, and hope that Liz's endorsement helps me once again earn a widespread coalition of support."
• Cheney notably crossed the aisle in 2022 to endorse Spanberger and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), both of whom won reelection over right-wing rivals.

The intrigue: It's not just Democrats enjoying cross-party support, though examples of the reverse are fewer and farther between.

• Ann Ashford, the widow of former Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.), has endorsed Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) for reelection to her late husband's seat.
• Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) — who, like Riggleman and Walsh, is now an independent — has endorsed several Republican congressional candidates as well as Trump.

Zoom out: The sudden spike in ex-Republican lawmakers endorsing Democrats running for Congress speaks to a broader party realignment currently underway.

• College-educated and suburban voters — many of whom share the neoconservative foreign policy views of these anti-Trump Republicans — have been drifting to the Democrats in recent cycles.
• Republicans, meanwhile, have been making inroads with working-class and non-college-educated voters.