After years of serving as a political operative, consultant, and elected official, I have long doubted the power of most endorsements in campaigns. Candidates will often poll voters asking if they were endorsed by “X” or “Y,” would that make the voter more or less likely to vote for the candidate, or would it make no difference? Respondents generally answer that endorsement makes no difference or only a slight difference one way or the other.
Some of my thinking about endorsements has been challenged by the power of President Trump’s endorsements. However, for all the claims by Stephen Cheung, the White House Communications Director, that Trump is the most politically powerful politician in history, Trump’s wins have occurred in Republican primary races, where turnout is typically low, and voters are hardcore partisans. Trump’s endorsements outside of the Republican primaries are less effective and, in some cases, a detriment.
Endorsements are good for two things, though. The first is demonstrating campaign momentum by rolling them out one after another and creating the sense that “everyone” is climbing aboard the campaign train. The second is what endorsements tell voters about who the candidates really are. An illustration can be seen in the endorsements of Republican and Democratic candidates in Tennessee’s new 9th Congressional District.
Brent Taylor
Taylor, who it seems has been running for Congress since he joined the Memphis City Council in 1995, earlier this week obtained the “Holy Grail” of the Republican primary, an endorsement from President Trump. For most observers, this is not all that surprising, but nevertheless impactful.
Since his election to the state senate in 2022, Taylor’s political persona has been that of a corn pone Trump mini-me. From insults and degrading nicknames to fearmongering and gaslighting, Taylor has perfected the “schtick.” The shoe-licking of Senator Marsha Blackburn and any other Republican with Trump’s ear was consequential to him receiving the endorsement, but Trump is not the most interesting figure to back Taylor.
It is clear that part of his strategy is to telegraph to the primary voters in the sprawling district that MAGA’s congressional leadership prefers Taylor to his equally right-wing opponents. Taylor has touted endorsements from Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), Rep. Tom Emmer, Majority Whip, and Rep. Steve Scalise, Majority Leader in the House. The particularly interesting endorsement of Taylor comes from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs the House Oversight Committee.
Jordan, while a MAGA darling, is the same Jim Jordan who has been dogged by credible accusations that, while he was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State, he looked the other way as the team doctor, Richard Strauss, sexually abused members of the college wrestling team. Multiple former athletes and a team referee have stated in depositions that Jordan ignored their complaints.
A 2019 investigation by a law firm hired by Ohio State did not find documentary evidence but stated that coaches and athletic administrators knew of the abuse for more than two decades. In a deposition in a civil suit against Ohio State, former athletic director Andy Geiger testified when asked about Jordan’s knowledge of the abuse that, “For somebody who was part of the program, it doesn’t seem credible to me…” The accusations of the athletes and staff at Ohio State, including the claims about Jordan, were so credible that HBO aired a documentary in 2025 called “Surviving Ohio State,” detailing the abuse.
It is curious why Taylor would ask for or accept an endorsement from Jordan, who has no connection to or influence with Tennessee voters.
Justin Pearson
On the other side of the aisle, State Representative Justin Pearson, who is running for Congress in the 9th Congressional District, has his own list of questionable endorsements. Pearson is a progressive activist known mostly as a member of the Tennessee Three, along with Representatives Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, who staged a protest on the House floor over inaction following the Covenant School shooting. Pearson and Jones were expelled from the legislature but reappointed by their local legislative bodies.
The uproar bolstered Pearson’s profile nationally, his ability to fundraise, and his movements among progressive elites. Those relationships have been translated into support for him in the Democratic primary against State Senator London Lamar, who has the endorsement of long-time Congressman Steve Cohen.
Pearson’s endorsements include Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-PA), Congresswoman Ayanna Presley (D-MA), Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), and former Vice President Kamala Harris. If you are progressive, these endorsements are impressive, but for a candidate running in a district that stretches over 200 miles east across mostly rural, conservative areas, it is hard to see how these endorsements propel Pearson closer to a congressional seat.
Omar, AOC, and Harris have long been targets of the Republicans, including the President. However, with the surge of Democratic-Socialist candidates in New York City and the attempted rebranding by the Right of democratic-socialism as communism, amplifying these endorsements is curious.
Excitement about high-profile figures on the political left may result in Pearson winning the nomination, but his campaign will be dead in the water when voters outside of Memphis catch wind of his list of supporters. Even rural Democrats are likely to take a pass on voting for Pearson in a district that is unlikely to be winnable in the best of circumstances.
In the 9th and in many of the other races on the ballot, these endorsements probably won’t be the last. When they appear in your social feeds, don’t just swipe past them. Take a moment to consider what they tell you about who the candidates really are and what they believe.