Dee from the Desk: the Power of the Endorsement

Tuesday was a big day in the land of the Rhode Island Republican with John Robitaille and Mitt Romney making endorsements in the Republican Primary.

The way the endorsement was touted you might think that John Robitaille was Ronald Reagan, and in some ways to Rhode Island Republicans he is. Robitaille was able to unify the party at one time and he gave a party ailing from defeat in 2010 hope as he moved on to the next political battle and sat as a chairman on the Mitt Romney for President Campaign.

The curious thing about the Robitaille endorsement is the fact that Robitaille actually ran against Block in 2010 when Robitaille was the Republican Nominee and Block ran as a Moderate. Robitaille got 33% of the vote, Block grabbed 6% and Chafee out scored them all with 36% of the vote. Many Republicans were bitter after the election blaming Block for Robitaille’s lost, even Robitaille seemed to agree but two years later Robitaille came out to endorse his former opponent. Robitaille said he doesn’t blame Block for his loss and instead blamed his lack of funding and his late entry into the race.

The endorsement came just one week for the primary and Block’s opponent Allan Fung has his own trump card. He called on former Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney for an endorsement and the endorsement came. Fung got to know Romney when he was stumping for John Robitaille in 2010 and made a visit to Taco Industries in Cranston. (As an aside notice that Taco CEO John Hazen White never endorsed any candidate but he did cut several checks) Fung also spent time with Romney when he was a delegate at the Republican National Convention.

Meanwhile, Robitaille called the Romney endorsement a mistake.

Let’s look at the numbers, in 2010 Robitaille got 114,911 votes and Romney got 157,204 votes in Rhode Island in 2012. Romney was the bigger vote getter and part of that is voter turn out but the when it comes down to it do Rhode Islanders really care?

Although, it was a big hullaballoo on Tuesday as the Republicans ran around touting their endorsements, in the end, Romney, Robitaille, Batman, Superman, no endorsement would really make a difference. How many Republican Primary voters do you think were waiting in the wings for some big endorsement to help them decide how to cast their vote in a week? Probably, none. Most people intending to vote in that primary where there is only one race that has gathered any attention (that being the governor’s race) have already made up their minds. An endorsement this late in the game is unlikely to make much of a difference. If Robitaille had endorsed months earlier it may have swayed some more voters but at this point it would seem that battle lines have been drawn.

Additionally, do you think the average voter remembers these endorsements when they go to the polls? Unless Mitt Romney was in town campaigning with Fung nobody is likely to remember the endorsement when they go to the polls. If people are not even paying attention to the real issues it is unlikely they are paying attention to endorsements.

Speaking of endorsements, notice that Providence Mayor Angel Taveras has not endorsed either Michael Solomon or Jorge Elorza for Mayor of Providence? Well good thing, Taveras cannot risk polarizing any voters in Providence. He needs all of the Democrats on his side. The key to a Taveras victory is Providence. If the city has a huge turnout it could give Taveras a major boost. He cannot risk endorsing a candidate and scaring off any likely voters. Taveras is right to play Switzerland.

In 2010 when Taveras was in the mayoral primary Providence turned out 24,815 Democratic voters accounting for approximately 26% of the total voter turn out in the election. That 26% is exactly what could put Taveras over the edge. Some political pundits have predicted a third place finish for Taveras but they are forgetting how important voter turnout is. The Democratic Primary is still anyone’s race, it will all hinge on voter turnout on the day of the election. Taveras needs a strong turnout in the Latino community and he can do it. He impressed everyone with his get out the vote skills in 2010 and the heated mayoral primary will also help Taveras turnout voters on Election Day.  Taveras just needs to content with the efforts of his opponents Gina Raimondo and Clay Pell which promise to be formidable.

At this point the primary is anyone’s game and it will not matter who endorses who but instead who can get the voters to the polls.

Follow me on Twitter @deedequattro

Dee DeQuattro is the assignment desk manager and digital news coordinator for ABC6. She studied politics and communications and holds a master’s degree from Providence College. Follow her on twitter @deedequattro and log on to ABC6 .com for her latest in depth coverage of politics and news.