 2016 U.S. presidential election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party | |||
| Democratic Party | |||
| Third parties | |||
| Related races | |||
| |||
This is a list of notablepolitical endorsements for declared candidates for theRepublican primaries for the2016 United States presidential election. Endorsements are part of the "invisible primary" process, which occurs not only long before thegeneral election, but also largely occurs before even thecaucuses and primaries have begun.
Early endorsements were correlated with the success candidates achieved in caucuses and primaries, for elections from 1980 through 2004.[1][2](See theUCLA School of Political Parties.)Historically, there has been a correlation ("76% of the eventual vote percentage")[3] between the percentage of political endorsements from sitting and former elected officials earned by a Republican candidate in the first half of the year prior to a presidential election (for the purposes of this article, January–June, 2015), with the percentage of votes cast for that candidate in Republican primaries during the first half of the election year (i.e., January–June, 2016).
The value of political endorsements varies, depending on whom they are from, when they are given, and other factors. Endorsements from politicians who live in states with early primaries are highly sought after.[4] So are endorsements from governors, federal senators, and federal representatives.[3] Endorsements from people from the candidate's home state are less valuable, unless multiple candidates from that state are running.[3]The impact ofcelebrity endorsements of political candidates is less clear, but can increase general election turnout,[5]or increase fundraising totals and media exposure.[6]
Background:Donald Trump (born in New York in1946 and raised there) is areal estate CEO (1971–present), with investments in New York, Florida, and several other states and countries. He is an author (1987–present) and television personality (2003–2015).
Background:Jeb Bush (born in1953) was the43rdGovernor of Florida (1999–2007). He was raised inTexas, where his brother,George wasgovernor (1995–2000) and his father,George H. W. Bush, was arepresentative (1967–1971). He was a Texas banker (1974–1979) and Floridareal estate developer (1980–1986) before entering politics. He suspended his campaign on February 21, 2016, and endorsed Ted Cruz on March 23, 2016.
Background: Dr.Ben Carson (born in1951) was a Marylandbrain surgeon and professor (1984–2013). He was raised in Michigan. He is anauthor, speaker, and runsa scholarship fund. He also served on the board of directors for Kellogg and Costco Wholesale Corporation for 18 and 16 years respectively. He suspended his campaign on March 4 and later endorsed Trump on March 11.[7]
Chris Christie (born in 1962) has beenGovernor of New Jersey since 2010. He was raised in New Jersey. He was a lawyer in New Jersey (1987–2002) before entering politics. He was electedMorris County legislator in 1995 and served until 1998. In 2002, he was appointed byGeorge W. Bush to the position ofUnited States Attorney for New Jersey, he held this position until 2008. On February 10, 2016, he suspended his campaign.[8] He later endorsed Trump on the 26th.[9]
Background:Ted Cruz (born in1970) is aTexas U.S. Senator (2013–present). Born inCalgary, Alberta,Canada, hewas raised in Texas. He was a Texaslawyer (1997–98) before entering politics. He suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016, and eventually endorsed Trump.[10]
Background:Carly Fiorina (born in1954) wasCEO ofHP/Compaq in 1999–2005, and an east coast[vague]manager atAT&T/Lucent (1980–1999). She was raised in multiple states. She led theCIA External Advisory Board (2007–2009), was the2010 U.S. Senate nominee in California, and runs severalorganizations. On February 10, 2016, she suspended her campaign and endorsed Ted Cruz on March 9, 2016.[11][12]
Background:Jim Gilmore (born in1949) wasGovernor of Virginia (1998–2002), andran for president in 2008. He was raised in Virginia. He was an overseasArmy Intel officer (1971–1974) and Virginia lawyer (1977–1987) before entering politics.
Background:Lindsey Graham (born in1955) is aU.S. Senator from South Carolina (2003–present). B, he was raised in South Carolina. He was a lawyer (USAF overseas [1982–89], privately in South Carolina (1989–1992) before entering politics. He withdrew on December 21, 2015. He first endorsedJeb Bush on January 15, 2016, and then endorsed Ted Cruz on March 17, 2016.
Background:Mike Huckabee (born in1955) wasGovernor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, andran for president in 2008. He was raised in Arkansas. He was aminister (1980–1992) before entering politics, anauthor (1997–2015), andtelevision host (2008–2015). He suspended his campaign February 1, 2016, after the Iowa Caucus.
Background:Bobby Jindal (born in1971) isGovernor of Louisiana (2008–2016). He was raised in Louisiana. He was aRhodes Scholar inpolitical science before entering politics. He withdrew on November 17, 2015, and endorsed Marco Rubio on February 5, 2016.
Background:John Kasich (born in1952) isGovernor of Ohio (2010–present),ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, and wasU.S. Representative from Ohio (1983–2001). He was raised in Pennsylvania. He has an Ohio degree in political science before entering politics, then was a television commentator and banker (2001–2008).
Background:George Pataki (born in1945) wasGovernor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He was raised in New York. He was a New York lawyer (1970–1981) before politics. He withdrew on December 29, 2015, and endorsedJohn Kasich on April 14, 2016, having previously endorsedMarco Rubio on January 26, 2016.
Background:Rand Paul (born in1963) is aU.S. Senator from Kentucky (2010–present). He was raised in Texas, where his father,Ron Paul was a U.S. Representative (1976–1977, 1979–1985, 1997–2013) and presidential candidate (1988/2008/2012). He was a Kentuckyeye surgeon (1993–2010) before entering politics. He withdrew on February 3, 2016.
Background:Rick Perry (born in1950) wasGovernor of Texas from 2000 to 2014, andran for president in 2012. Hewas raised in Texas. He was a Texas-and-overseasUSAF pilot (1972–1977) and Texasfarmer (1977–1984) before entering politics. He withdrew on September 11, 2015, and endorsedTed Cruz on January 25, 2016.[13]
Background:Marco Rubio (born in1971) is aU.S. Senator from Florida (2010–present). He was raised in Florida (and Nevada). He was a Florida lawyer (1996–98) before entering politics. On March 15, 2016, Rubio announced he has suspended his campaign.
Background:Rick Santorum (born in1958) was aPennsylvania U.S. Senator from 1995 to 2007, andran for president in 2012. He was raised in Pennsylvania (and West Virginia). He was a Pennsylvania lawyer (1987–1990) before entering politics. He withdrew on February 3, 2016, and endorsed Marco Rubio.
Background:Scott Walker (born in1967) isGovernor of Wisconsin (2011–present). He was raised in Wisconsin (and Iowa). He was atMarquette University in politics and economics before entering politics. He withdrew on September 21, 2015, and endorsed Ted Cruz on March 29, 2016.
The intentional withholding of an endorsement (aka "negative endorsement") is a relevant and important category for this topic. At a minimum, it represents the loss of an endorsing entity for a candidate. It also represents the introduction of a minimum threshold. The editorial department of theDeerfield Beach, Florida-basedSun-Sentinel on March 4, 2016, announced that it would endorse no GOP candidates because, it said, "The kind of person who should be running is not in the race".[14]