Do endorsements matter?
Today, Republican Tom Emmer announced that two well known Republican insiders are backing his campaign. Former GOP Congressman Vin Weber and national committeeman Brian Sullivan both say Emmer is best suited to bring together the Republican Party.
The endorsement comes just days after a group of state lawmakers announced they were supporting him.
"Every one of these makes a difference in terms of the sphere of influence that these people have," Emmer said. He added that Weber and Sullivan bring significant weight to his campaign.
"They bring more than just their name, they bring their history and their reputation and their involvement as leaders within Minnesota the Republican Party."
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But here's a question: Do endorsements matter?
For example, Emmer announced the day before precinct caucuses that former U.S. Sen. Rod Grams was backing his campaign. The announcement received some fanfare in Duluth (and on this blog) but may not have delivered any votes, even in Grams' own BPOU.
Grams attended the Isanti County BPOU with his wife. He didn't seek to become a delegate, but I'm told that he was wearing an Emmer hockey jersey and worked the room hard for the Delano Republican. His wife, Chris, did seek to become a delegate but wasn't elected. In fact, Republican Marty Seifert picked up 16 delegates, Emmer picked up one, and one delegate is undecided.
I understand that the Republican endorsement for governor is neck and neck between Seifert and Emmer and every vote counts.
So here's my Question of the day....
Are you, or have you ever been influenced by a candidate endorsement?