In bygone years in politics, at least in Alabama politics, when you were a young, aspiring, learning politician, the old veterans would instill traditional rules and truisms that you should understand and adhere to.
One was “all politics is local.” If you were elected to be a state or national legislator, you looked after homefolks and listened to and reacted to local needs and concerns.
The second was that you do not get involved with other races. You definitely do not openly support or endorse any other candidate. You “stick to your own knitting.” The reasoning behind this no endorse maxim was first, politics is such a two-faced arena that your endorsee would not appreciate it in the long term and would eventually stab you in the back and you have made the person you endorsed opponent’s family, friends, and supporters, enemies for life. Thus, the saying if you endorse someone you make one ingrate and a thousand other enemies.
Secondly, it is the height of arrogance to assume that you are so popular that you can transfer your so-called popularity to someone else. In past times, the Alabama electorate would say to an arrogant, currently popular politico who would get full of himself and endorse someone in another race, “you are getting pretty full of yourself. We elected you to your own office. You need to be thankful for what you got and stick to your own knitting. We will decide for ourselves who we will vote for in other races.”
This rule was steadfast and strictly upheld by voters, especially in Alabama. Folks would vote against the endorsed candidate just for spite and hold it against the endorsee. It would also come back to bite the endorsee in later races.
George Wallace, in the height of his popularity, would endorse another candidate and invariably they would lose. In fact, he was 0-10 and a lot of those tens were supposed to win. The Wallace endorsement was the “kiss of death.”
Today’s political world has changed. In Alabama, the endorsement of Donald J. Trump is the golden key to election in the Heart of Dixie, and all politics is no longer all local. It is all national, driven by national unrelenting partisan allegiance derived from and driven by national issues.
The question today is, do group or organizational endorsements matter? The answer is yes and no. Endorsements matter more in down ballot races, especially legislative races. Special Interest groups are more interested in the legislative races because the legislature has the power and makes the major decisions that most affect the powerful Special Interest agenda.
Since we are a conservative Republican state when it comes to statewide and legislative races, the conservative pro-business groups and their PACs are the most important endorsements. The most important by far is the Alabama Farmers Federation, ALFA. This endorsement is ardently sought by all statewide candidates. ALFA is the Blue Ribbon of conservatism. Their endorsed ballot goes out to over 300,000 Alabamians including nearly 100,000 farmers and farm-related participants, as well as their insurance policyholders. They also provide campaign and PAC support. The other important groups are the Alabama Forestry Association, the Business Council of Alabama, and Manufacture Alabama.
There are four races where all four of these groups have endorsed in and are supporting. Senator “Coach” Tommy Tuberville has garnered all four in his cakewalk to Governor. Young Boozer has received all four in his uncontested race for re-election as State Treasurer. Caroleene Dobson has won all four ALFA, BCA, Forestry and Manufacturing in her race for Secretary of State. Twenty-eight-year-old political newcomer, Derek Chen, has won all four ALFA, Forestry, Manufacture Alabama, and BCA in his bid for State Auditor. He won ALFA overwhelmingly and became the darling of the farmers throughout the state.
The three tightly contested, statewide races will be and have already been affected by the ALFA endorsement. In the Lt. Governor’s race, current Secretary of State Wes Allen won the ALFA endorsement and the endorsements of several other business groups.
In the Agriculture Commissioner race, Corey Hill’s receiving of the ALFA endorsement made him a serious contender in a close three-person race. Hill will be facing better financed Baldwin and Mobile candidates, Christina Woerner McInnis and Jack Williams. Senator Williams has received the Forestry endorsement, as well as Manufacture Alabama and Business Council of Alabama.
Katherine Robertson’s garnering of the ALFA endorsement in the Attorney General’s race has made her a viable candidate against front runner Jay Mitchell. Judge Mitchell has been endorsed by the BCA and most business groups in the state.
Do endorsements count? We will soon see.
See you next week.
