Power of US Governors’ Endorsements Is Possibly ‘Declining’

So far, twenty-four state governors have already endorsed a presidential candidate when their support matters the most such as lending their names and organizing the mechanisms necessary to give the respective campaigns an edge in the primary races. In the Democratic race, Hillary has 10 endorsements such.

An endorsement by a state governor could be considered gold since they have their own grass-roots and fundraising networks to share. But it will be natural for governors to support the party nominee during the general election. So far that makes backing from governors important in the primary and caucus stages.

“Voters in the primaries and caucuses are trying to make decisions among candidates that they generally prefer, so those choices tend to be harder,” Paul Beck explains. Beck is a political scientist at Ohio State University.

He adds: “There, a governor’s endorsement can be useful.”

The government endorsements started a year ago. During that time, seven governors had announced their endorsements and support for candidates.

However, the importance of backing from governors had declined according to David Webber, who is a political scientist at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He explains that the decline is attributed to state political organizations weakening and the overload of information today from blogs to news channels.

“People are waiting for (broadcaster) Lou Dobbs to endorse someone,” Webber explains and adds: “I’m not sure governors have as much clout as they did 25 or 40 years ago.”

Obama has five endorsements. McCain has four endorsements. Romney has three endorsements. Huckabee and Giuliani only have one endorsement.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California has not backed a candidate yet. But California is deemed the biggest prize on Super Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger said: “California is a very powerful state, and for the first time in decades we can now be part of the decision-making process.”

Florida Governor Charlie Crist has not endorsed a candidate yet but has not ruled out the announcement.

“Just because a governor says this is who I’m supporting, I don’t know that that really means that people are going to follow that guidance,” Crist explains.