It seems that not a day goes by without a politician’s campaign releasing a slate of "groundbreaking" endorsements. The location is usually the steps of City Hall, with plenty of smiling faces holding colorful signs saying “I support Bob.” There is typically a lot of fanfare surrounding these endorsements and if you’re like many folks, you’ve probably wondered at one time or another if these endorsements matter, i.e., do they help the endorsee get elected?

Some people say it’s a resounding “yes”. The rationale being that voters are more likely to vote for the candidate that their favorite (and presumably trusted) current or past elected official, newspaper, advocacy group or union supports. The thinking goes, “Heck, if the proverbial candidate Bob is good enough for my (fill in endorser) then he or she is good enough for me.” Now, whether this actually happens and to what rate is surely up for debate and political scientists and pundits have lots to say about the matter. That being said, in looking at previous NYC elections it is quite clear that certain communities have more consistently—and to a greater degree—voted for candidates who have received the endorsement of important local actors. Two that come to mind are the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Harlem.

Next, there's the ground game. What I mean by this is that endorsements by organizations such as unions can bring much needed canvassing support by union members. With the endorsement can come hundreds, if not thousands, of new bodies to make phone calls, hand out flyers, knock on doors and do a whole variety of "get out the vote" actions that are so critical to a campaign. Such support can be especially important in partisan primaries, like NYC’s, where the race often comes down to whoever wins the primary (because the other political party has not fielded a candidate) and/or general election voting numbers will split between party lines, i.e., towards the Democratic candidate. So, during the primary, you will often have 5 or 6 candidates running, making for a very crowded field where it is difficult to get your message out. However, if you have a local union sending people to canvas the street on your behalf, or a paper singing your praises in its editorial columns, you have a greater chance of standing out from the competition. The truth is that at the end of the day, a lot of people simply vote for the name they recognize, not really knowing much about one candidate or the other.

Finally, you can’t discount the role endorsements play in the daily production of newspaper stories during an election season. With every endorsement comes the usual post endorsement analysis, with other candidates discounting the true “value” of the endorsement they didn’t get. And then of course rushing off to accept the one they did get…