Lafayette Journal & Courier

Endorsements can matter -- and not

April 17, 2008

(College of Liberal Arts) -- Lafayette resident Mark Fischer has voted in 13 Democratic primaries through the years.

Fischer said it doesn't matter to him if a politician endorses another politician, because he's going to make up his own mind.

"I'm pretty independent," Fischer said.

But that hasn't stopped the presidential campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama from courting prominent Lafayette-area Democrats for endorsements. As the May 6 primary approaches and with Indiana weighing in on who will win the Democratic presidential nomination -- for the first time in 40 years -- voters aren't the only ones with a choice to make.

Democrats across the state, ranging from small-town mayors to state legislators, are being pressed to make a choice: Obama or Clinton?

With each endorsement from key local Democrats, Obama and Clinton not only pick up support but gain access to a network of local supporters as well, said Bert Rockman, head of the Political Science Department at Purdue University.

However, he said, the benefits of those endorsements and local networks are questionable.

"It really doesn't carry any weight in the electorate," Rockman said. "It doesn't really affect what voters do."

Rockman pointed to Massachusetts where Obama won the endorsement of nearly every statewide elected official but still lost the primary.

Though an endorsement might not change voters' minds, it seems to carry some weight with other politicians.

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh's endorsement of Clinton was a "big factor" in his decision to back the New York senator.

However, Roswarski said he wouldn't expect, nor would he think it right, for a voter to decide who to support in any election based solely on an endorsement.

Former West Lafayette Mayor Sonya Margerum endorsed Obama Wednesday, saying the Illinois senator represents the future. She was joined by several other current and past West Lafayette politicians.

Margerum said she hopes her endorsement will motivate people to vote for Obama.

"I certainly would be speaking on his behalf to ... whomever wants to know," Margerum said.

Before a politician endorses either Clinton or Obama, each campaign tries to woo local officials with phone calls from the candidates or other politicians.

Heather Maddox, vice chairwoman of the Tippecanoe County Democratic Party, said she's received calls from both campaigns seeking her endorsement.

Maddox recalls Bayh visiting the area and talking to a group of local Democrats a few months ago trying to rally support for Clinton.

Joe Hogsett, Hoosiers for Hillary co-chairman, said sometimes voters will consider a local elected official's endorsement of a candidate when deciding who to vote for because the voter trusts their judgment.

"When a mayor endorses, the campaign works with that individual to try to encourage whatever political organization the mayor has in place to employ that as an asset to the campaign," Hogsett said.

As a result, the politician becomes an informal arm of the campaign.

Crawfordsville Mayor Charlie Coons did just that when he went to bat for Clinton this week. He participated in a Clinton campaign conference call to discuss remarks Obama made over the weekend -- that small-town Midwesterners are "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion."

"We live in a city of 15,000 and I can tell you we have a nice place to live," Coons said, adding that what Obama said in the California fundraiser was "hard to accept of a presidential candidate."

Coons said he's supporting Clinton because of the knowledge and experience she could bring to the office.