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As I See It

Why such a big deal about political endorsements?

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Much is made of endorsements in politics. Seemingly everyday throughout this long campaign some politician is bragging about getting an endorsement from a more powerful politician. But do they carry any political weight? Former President Trump announced his endorsement of Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen this week. Were we to expect him to endorse Democratic Governor Tim Walz instead? Mandela Barnes is proudly announcing the endorsement he secured from former President Barack Obama. Obama certainly wasn’t going to hitch his wagon to Ron Johnson, right? We get news releases from political campaigns all the time showing they have earned the endorsement of this group or that. Almost always the lists are those of exclusively democrat or exclusively republican based on whether it is a liberal or a right-wing group doing the endorsing. These endorsements seem overvalued, and unnecessary. Sometimes they can backfire. Senator Bernie Sanders will be in La Crosse next week to encourage young people to vote. But it will also by a rally for local democrats.  How close will local candidates want to stand to the poster child for progressives?  Will it impact the outcome of the election? Do any of these endorsements impact the outcome of the election? Then why do we make such a big deal about them?

Scott Robert Shaw serves as WIZM Program Director and News Director, and delivers the morning news on WKTY, Z-93 and 95.7 The Rock. Scott has been at Mid-West Family La Crosse since 1989, and authors Wisconsin's only daily radio editorial, "As I See It" heard on WIZM each weekday morning and afternoon.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mike Sladky

    October 28, 2022 at 9:24 am

    Hey Robert, You are showing your bias when you use the term, “right-wing” in describing a republican group instead of “conservative”: But in the same sentence you used “liberal” when describing democrats. Why did you not use a similar descriptor for democrats? Have a nice day.

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