The right endorsement can add credibility to a campaign, particularly if the endorser has sway in an ethnic or geographic community. A high-profile endorsement can help to mobilize supporters and prompt people to volunteer. When announced at a critical juncture, an endorsement can boost fundraising efforts. A celebrity endorsement can turn a local politician into a national figure.

In a highly polarized race, though, endorsements may have limited impacts. They didn’t do much good for then-front-runner Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He got early support from most of the city’s major powerbrokers and proceeded to lose handily to Zohran Mamdani. Chastened, many people and groups that endorsed him adopted a wait-and-see approach before throwing their support

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