Colorado Politics

Do endorsements matter? | BIDLACK

Hal Bidlack

Back in 2008 during my failed run for the United States Congress, my team and I spent some time on getting endorsements from people we thought might help the campaign. Some endorsements were relatively easy to get, such as then Congressman Mark Udall, who was running successfully for the U.S. Senate in the same year. I had been to a few events with Mark, and he liked me enough to write a very nice endorsement. I also got a nice endorsement from then U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, who even went so far as to host a fundraiser for me in Denver. Various other community leaders from the district and around the state were kind enough to endorse me, and that’s why I won my election.

Ok, spoiler: I lost, despite the endorsements.

So, are endorsements meaningful at all? Candidates basically hope an endorsement from a well-known person will help people support a candidate they might otherwise pass over. But do they work?

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I ask the question because of a very strange little squabble going on here in Colorado Springs as we approach our May 16th mayoral runoff election. The “conservative” candidate is Wayne Williams (I use quotes because he sure wants to be thought of that way), who is a long-time elected official here in El Paso County, having taken a very successful ride on the GOP pass-the-office-around system here in this heavily GOP area.

Wayne’s opponent is Yemi Mobolade (whom my wife and I met last weekend at a local breakfast restaurant. He’s a very nice guy, a moderate, with a clear vision of a great future for Colorado Springs, and he’ll almost certainly lose, but he has a bright future in Colorado politics). In an attack ad, Wayne condemns Yemi as, gasp, a Liberal! Not only that, but a liberal who wants to take your hard-earned money and give it to people who are too lazy to work for it. OK, I admit, that last part is implied and not specifically stated.

But as was noted in a recent Colorado Politics story, it looks like somebody in the Williams campaign got sloppy when it came to maintaining the list of endorsements Wayne has piled up. Specifically, in a couple of places, the Williams campaign has stated former El Paso County sheriff Bill Elder had endorsed Wayne when, in fact (and surprisingly delightfully), Elder actually endorsed Yemi. Read the story for the details, but basically Wayne’s folks claim Elder “supported” Wayne which, I guess, is not the same as “endorsing.” They are squabbling, and the bottom line is Elder supports the moderate guy. Huzzah, and thanks, Sheriff Elder!

But does any of that matter?

What is the purpose of getting endorsements anyway? Putting on my old and raggedy poli sci professor’s hat, I’d say candidates (like me in 2008), as noted above, look for endorsements as a way to reach out to people who don’t know you but might well know your endorser. Thus I, as a relatively unknown candidate in ’08, let people know that, say, Udall supports me. They know Udall, and therefore, his endorsement allows people to be comfortable in supporting me. They accepted Udall’s endorsement of me was enough for them to vote for me.

As a candidate, you spend time looking for great endorsements. As I was hoping that my 25-plus-year military career might be very helpful in my heavily military district, I sought out endorsements from every level of general officer, from one-star through four-star. I got generals in each rank to endorse me which, I admit, felt kind of cool as a retired Lt. Colonel.

Oh, and if you want to talk about getting nervous, my four-star was former presidential candidate and widely respected retired four-star Wesley Clark. We got the message Clark was happy to endorse, but he wanted to talk to me on the phone first (to get a sense of me, I guess). I was given his cell phone number and wow, was I nervous. In my mind, I went from a candidate calling another candidate to a retired Lt. Colonel calling a general who was, quite literally, exactly double my rank (O-5 vs. O-10). But Clark could not have been kinder, and I ended up doing events with him, much to my delight and awe. But I digress… (Editor: yes, you do!)

So, are you influenced by endorsements? Sometimes, for races you know little or nothing about (say, coroner), you might well take the endorsement of someone you respect to inform you on whom you should vote for. That’s the goal, after all. But in races like mayor of a big city, do they matter that much?

Unlike the Williams campaign, Yemi’s ads have remained entirely positive. Wayne went negative, but at least so far, Yemi has kept to the high road. The Elder endorsement nonsense might give him an in to go negative, but I’m pleased he hasn’t done so. I’m guessing the several news stories reporting on the Williams campaign falsely claiming Elder’s endorsement will do whatever damage a negative ad might have done, so there isn’t really any good reason to go negative.

So, fellow Colorado Springs votes (sorry, rest-of-Colorado, I’ll get back to you next time), has your voting decision been influenced in any way by the Elder silliness? I’m guessing no. When the results are announced on the evening of May 16, I fully expect this GOP town to have elected Wayne Williams as mayor. But Yemi has taken an important first step in what I bet will be a successful Colorado political career.

And who knows? Maybe he’ll win.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

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