political endorsement
{{Short description|Publicly declaring support for a candidate}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2008}}
A political endorsement is a public declaration of one's personal or group's support of a candidate for elected office. In a multiparty system, where one party considers that it does not have enough support to win power, just prior to the election, the official representative of that party may give an official endorsement for a party that they consider more likely to be a contender. In Australian electoral law, "electoral endorsement" is a specific term and a candidate can only be endorsed by a registered party. There are also presidential endorsements.
By journalists
According to a 2002 study, editorial endorsements of candidates by newspapers{{Cite journal | last1 = Ansolabehere | first1 = Stephen | last2 = Lessem | first2 = Rebecca | last3 = Snyder, Jr | first3 = James M. | title = The orientation of newspaper endorsements in U.S. elections, 1940–2002 | journal = Quarterly Journal of Political Science | volume = 1 | issue = 4 | pages = 393–404 | publisher = Now Publishing Inc. | doi = 10.1561/100.00000009 | date = October 2006 }} led voters to evaluate endorsed candidates more favorably than candidates who fail to secure an editorial endorsement.{{Cite journal |last1=Kahn |first1=Kim Fridkin |last2=Kenney |first2=Patrick J. |date=2002 |title=Influence Campaign Coverage and Citizens' Views of Candidates |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/slant-of-the-news-how-editorial-endorsements-influence-campaign-coverage-and-citizens-views-of-candidates/71FB7C8336B7B12EB239802C09A37F4D |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=96 |issue=2 |pages=381–394 |doi=10.1017/S0003055402000230 |doi-broken-date=6 December 2024 |issn=1537-5943}} An editorial political endorsement of national political races can result in the perception of reduced journalistic objectivity, while endorsement in local political races can be seen non-partisan.{{cite journal | last1=Perreault | first1=Gregory | last2=Kananovich | first2=Volha | last3=Hackett | first3=Ella | title=Guarding the Firewall: How Political Journalists Distance Themselves From the Editorial Endorsement Process | journal=Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=100 | issue=2 | date=27 March 2022 | issn=1077-6990 | doi=10.1177/10776990221084609 | doi-access=free | pages=354–372}} Reduced political accountability from journalism is a risk to democracy.{{cite journal | title=The Challenges of Investigative Journalism | journal=U. Miami L. Rev. | date=2001–2002 | volume=56 | page=377 | url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/umialr56&div=21&id=&page= | access-date=7 August 2024 | last1=Waisbord | first1=Silvio }} Scientific credibility of scientific organizations can be reduced with editorial political endorsements.{{cite journal | last=Lupia | first=Arthur | title=Political endorsements can affect scientific credibility | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=615 | issue=7953 | date=20 March 2023 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/d41586-023-00799-3 | doi-access=free | pages=590–591| pmid=36941377 | bibcode=2023Natur.615..590L }}