By Feb 23, 2007 (approximately one year before Super Tuesday) he had 245 total endorsements, followed by 118 for McCain and 22 for Giuliani. That was more than twice the endorsements of the next leading candidate and ten times the endorsements of the candidate trailing after that.
The names of each endorser are given for each candidate.
This was an increase from 176, 104, and 20 three days earlier (Endorsement Count Rough Cut Feb 20, 2007)
and of 171, 93, and 16 respectively the week before. (Endorsement Count Feb 17 2007).
On Aug 15, 2007, a website that tracked only endorsements by key political figures showed him still receiving the widest support, having a total of 68 key endorsements, with 40 for McCain and 4 for Huckabee.
That website divided the endorsements into four tiers, with tier 1 being current U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives and Governors, tier 2 being former U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives and Governors, tier 3 being RNC Committee members and
tier 4 being the number of states in which the candidate had won the endorsement of a majority of state legislatures. In each category Mitt Romney had the lead.
By January 1st 2008, another website that tracked only first tier endorsements showed Romney still had the greatest support, with 41 total tier one endorsements, while McCain had 32 and Huckabee had 5.*
*Counts, such as those given in the above references, may not be exact. For example, subtotals included Senator Lott who resigned from Senator McCain's campaign, but not Senator Craig who resigned from Governor Romney's and a subsequent list missed Rep. Mulvaney's (R-SC) Romney endorsement. Also of note, these are endorsements of public figures, including elected officials. Many private citizens whose name and face are not known to the public came out in favor of or endorsed one candidate or another, but in the end their voice matters most in the election booth.
Sen. McCain won the election, and emphasized support he had among individuals in different groups, such as the military. In January 2008, when a talk show host had on his show a former secretary of defense (a visible public figure) who endorsed McCain, the host joked that at least someone endorsed Senator McCain.
However, as the guest noted, many people in the pentagon and former government employees who worked under that secretary of defense endorsed Sen. McCain. The host noted that since McCain heads a committee over the military, many of those may be people who did not want to jeopardize funding or programs they were leading. However, if lists of private citizens were counted, such as those people, and including those involved in the political process, just as Sen. McCain won the election, he very well may have led in endorsements.
Governor Romney received enthusiastic endorsements as can be seen by reading a sampling of quotes below.
Some have tried to downplay Governor Romney's support by noting only a few incumbent governors endorsed him. However, when the presidential primary voting began with the Iowa Caucus in January 2008, Mitt Romney had received four endorsements from incumbent governors to McCain's three, although a governor who endorsed Romney early on was leaving office and soon became a former governor. But as Super Tuesday neared, a few more governors endorsed Senator McCain.
(Some have felt the governors endorsing McCain around this time had more liberal views on immigration and other issues that best matched Senator McCain. Thomas Sowell had this perspective: "John McCain has now been restored to the position of front runner that the media gave him at the outset.
"Other Republicans are jumping on his bandwagon. This may have less to do with McCain’s own qualities than with the prospect of getting Cabinet posts or Supreme Court appointments as rewards for their political support.")
As Governor Romney led in overall endorsements and in endorsements in so many categories throughout the campaign, often by significant margins, his falling a few governors' endorsements behind McCain in his final two weeks was one area McCain supporters emphasized. Even at that, Governor Romney received a total of nine endorsements from serving and retired governors, a very respectable show of support for a presidential primary, but especially for an underdog in the election.
More significant, is that Governor Romney led in congressional endorsements, the governing body the next president would work with. Also significant, Governor Romney received a competitive (although smaller) number of endorsements in the branch of congress which McCain spent over 20 years in— a branch with less than 50 republicans, most on at least their second 6-year term, who knew McCain well.
Also significant is that the most politically active and informed republicans favored Governor Romney by a noticeable margin.
This was reflected in part by Mitt Romney receiving the most endorsements in all tiers. But it was also reflected in his receiving overwhelming support from conservative talk show hosts, strong, widespread support by conservative leaders and pundits, and by his winning 8 out of 10 state caucuses, which the more politically active and informed members of the republican party generally participate in.
If the average republican primary voter had been as involved in the election and accurately educated about the candidates, Mitt Romney may have won the most state primaries as well.
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