Why are political endorsements important?
In: Other
Evaluating whether you should vote for a candidate is complicated and based on many factors. Voters take shortcuts to make their decision easier. Political party is one of these–if a candidate is affiliated with a party I like, he is more likely to be my preferred kind of candidate. Endorsements are another shortcut: if I respect a person’s judgment, and he endorses this candidate, that is another reason this candidate is likely to be right for me.
Political science research shows that broadly, voters that use these methods tend to select the candidate who most closely aligns with their views (presumably the correct choice) even though they did not compare their views to the candidate’s.
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