High-profile endorsements aren’t the key to victory

With federal Conservatives ready to announce the successor to leader Andrew Scheer on Sunday, I’m surprised so few from the valley have made public endorsements.

MP Tracy Gray and MLA Ben Stewart are the only sitting politicians who have vocally stated their intentions.

In leadership races, as we’re seeing south of the border with the virtual Democratic convention, endorsements are the name of the game in politics.

Although nice to have and it could sway someone who’s undecided, I often wonder if they matter at all.

In the case of the federal Conservatives, most MPs across Canada appear to be supporting Peter MacKay or Erin O’Toole.

Impressive, but look no further than here in B.C., a decade ago, when Christy Clark won the BC Liberal leadership over three other challengers with only one endorsement from an existing MLA — a backbencher.

It didn’t matter, the future premier resonated with everyday voters willing to pay $10 to join the party and then get out and cast a ballot.

With a ranked ballot, weird things can and do happen. While MacKay is picked by pollsters, few predicted that Scheer would win in 2017 or Stephane Dion would run up the middle and take the Liberal leadership race in

2006.

Second picks matter.

With this being a non-conventional year for everything, political conventions are also weird. With the pandemic, large rallies are prohibited. Voting is done by mail.

In the case of the Conservatives, endorsements came mostly from politicians, not celebrities, which is the way they like to do things in the States.

In 2016, everybody cool supported Hillary Clinton — Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Carrie Fisher (she was in “Star Wars”). Heck, the night before the election, Hillary was campaigning with LeBron James — and in Ohio, where he’s the most popular athlete ever.

Donald Trump, by comparison, had support from Scott Baio (described by Rolling Stone as “Hollywood’s most available actor”), Ted Nugent, Meat Loaf and the guys from “Duck Dynasty.”

Star power didn’t work for Hillary. Maybe it backfired. If an average voter hates someone who has endorsed a candidate, they may vote the other way. Others may see this as, “you’re not telling me who to vote for.”

Watching Joe Biden, his team picked the obvious — Michelle Obama, the most revered women in America, Republicans (John Kasich, Cindy McCain) and his challengers for the nomination (Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren).

Where Biden’s team excels is by going with more everyday Americans who people can more easily identify with.

Brayden Harrington, a 13-year old from New Hampshire, stole the show Thursday with his address. Like

Biden, young Brayden is challenged by stuttering. When we were all done drying tears from our eyes, we were inspired by the words from the mouth of a teenager.

For most of us, it’s easier to identify with Brayden than say, Taylor Swift or Robert DeNiro.

Back to the Conservatives. Whatever the outcome, if they want to form government, they can only do it if they stand united with who the membership picks as its leader.

The Democrats seem to have this figured out. Let’s see if the Conservatives do.