Do Endorsements Really Matter?

Campaign season is in full swing. Presidential and senatorial candidates alike are visiting student organizations, spreading the word about their platforms, and talking with constituents in hopes of representing them in NISG for the 2012-2013 academic year. Soon, the Northern Iowan and this blog will start posting endorsements from veteran student leaders hoping to influence their peer’s votes. But do they really matter? Does a candidate necessarily need former and current student leaders to voice their support in order to win an election?

Last year, Spencer and Ian took an endorsement from former vice president Jake Rudy and ran with it to the finish. Jake’s support helped convince the people outside of Spencer and Ian’s traditional circle that they were poised to lead NISG successfully. As one of those outsiders, learning that Jake (someone whom I respected a great deal) was helping Spencer and Ian made my decision to support them non-negotiable. To students without NISG experience, who might not have known who Spencer or Ian were, hearing that someone who held the position previously was standing by them probably secured many votes.

Endorsements don’t have to necessarily be for the presidential ticket, though. Last year, in the midst of running against a junior with the same major as mine, I was struggling to gain name recognition. Days before the election, this very blog released it’s only endorsement for my campaign to represent the College of Business Administration in senate. Within minutes of its posting, my phone was exploding. I had professors, friends, and even people I had never met asking me about it. I absolutely credit Trevor Boeckmann’s endorsement for my victory in the election and my ensuing credibility within senate. Hell, I wouldn’t be writing this blog today without his endorsement.

So do endorsements matter? To some extent, yes. They played a major role in last year’s election, but they haven’t always had as positive of an impact as they did in 2011. In 2008, Cezar-Lobdell proved that endorsements were just a public announcement of one vote. During that campaign, most everyone within NISG wrote endorsements for the then-vice president and director of administration. Using The Cult strategy to perfection, Cezar-Lobdell ran a brilliant ad in the Northern Iowan. The ad proved to be the turning point in the election that Cezar-Lobdell eventually won, and I would go as far to say that the ad marked the beginning of The Cult.

We can expect many endorsements this year, and it will be up to the student body to decide how much weight to give each one. I wouldn’t expect an endorsement out of Spencer or Ian, as that would significantly hinder the transition process should their choice fail to win. We may see an endorsement from Dakotah Reed or Rhonda Greenway, however, which could impact the final vote count. Both ran for President last year and might have something to say about the current candidates. However, perhaps the most important endorsement would come from former student body president Joel Anderson. Joel served as president my freshman year, and he is by far the strongest leader on campus, in my opinion. He has a knack for influencing and providing guidance to fellow students. His endorsement would be huge and would instantly establish a ticket as a front runner.

Stay tuned over the next two weeks as we post who has endorsed whom and what it means to the election.