With the last federal election of the year in the books, we can finally look at what Trump’s record of endorsements looks like and how it has helped shape and/or hurt the Republican Party.
In consultant world, Trump’s endorsement is considered worth its weight in gold. A little known secret among consultants and major candidates is that most of the closest advisors and friends around the 45th President offer their professional services in exchange for guaranteeing an endorsement. Without naming names (I’ll let you use your imagination), people who have Trump’s ear will charge on average $15k to $20k per month for a campaign promising they will deliver the Trump endorsement. What most of these unsuspecting candidates don’t realize is that they have no ability to do that and are quickly surprised.
Remember when Trump attacked Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dave McCormick, saying, “He hired almost every person that worked anywhere- if anybody was within 200 miles of me, he hired them.” Trump wasn’t exactly lying, just exaggerating the truth.
More often than not, these endorsements aren’t delivered and consultants walk away with a lot of money for very little work.
Back to the Trump endorsement, here’s his record for backing the winning non-incumbent candidate that he backed in both the primary and general according to Ballotpedia’s record. Here’s a link of every endorsement and their win/loss record: