Do endorsements affect your choice?

Local, National, Politics, Virginia 1 Minute

Part of politics is lining up endorsements under the premise that if these people support you, others will, too. Webb got a pretty good push today:

Jim Webb received today support from seven past and present Senate Democrats including Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, Senator and former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Christopher Dodd, Senator Ken Salazar, Democratic Senator Tim Johnson and former Senator Max Cleland.

So do endorsements affect who you vote for? When you look at a candidate, do you see who is supporting him/her before you make your choice?

Oh – and don’t forget to vote in the Webb/Miller poll 😉

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6 thoughts on “Do endorsements affect your choice?”

  1. I don’t, but many voters do. When I ran in the primary in 2003, I had one endorsement! Many voters said that “if Frank O’Leary supports you, I will support you”.

  2. It seems to matter a lot to some voters. When I was running, I would often get asked if a this one or that one supported me. For myself, endorsements mean nothing. (I guess I’ve gotten too cynical about why somebody endorses somebody else.)

  3. I think endorsements may be a short cut for folks who aren’t as well informed. I have met both men on several occasions, heard them speak, seen them react to different situations. I’ve researched, read, and wrote extensively on their backgrounds. Endorsements are nice, but I’ve formed my own opinion.

    Most folks haven’t been as involved as I have. So a day or two before the primary they’ll start looking at both candidates. One of the things they’ll look at are nedorsements: if they know or like the endorsers, they may like the candidate.

    Tough call between low-profile local officials and high profile national figures. Most people in Virginia don’t know who their delegate is. Most Democrats do know who Harry Reid is, but may not think his opinion relevant (I think it’s highly relevant).

    So, does that help?

  4. JC said “Most people in Virginia don’t know who their delegate is”. This is so true. National figures may make a difference to some. Some voters told me that they would vote for me because so and so endorsed my opponent, and they disliked so and so. I guess I learned who NOT to include on my endorsement list. To me, endorsing someone means that you will campaign for the endorsee because you believe in his/her program. Otherwise it’s meaningless.

  5. Primary turnout down here is really low. About the only people going to the polls in a primary are people “in the know” so to speak. For the most part, those people have already decided who to support and endorsements don’t seem to mean a whole lot.

    General elections are different. (You know, I get some phone calls from folks who don’t pay much attention to the choices and who ask me who they should vote for. I guess they trust that I won’t steer them wrong.) There, endorsements may mean more, especially for the folks who haven’t kept up. (Of course, these are the same folks who are swayed by TV ads 😦 )

    I think there are a lot of D’s who don’t know who Harry Reid is, at least amongst the D’s I know. These are people who will vote for a D no matter what, but they just aren’t plugged in to who the players are.

  6. Not me–people I have a lot of respect for have endorsed Miller, but I am not going to support him. There are SOME endorsements, however, that I would pay attention to. However, rarely would a single endorsement cause me to change my vote.

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