Candidates Tout Endorsements as WI Primary Season Heats Up
Will support from Trump, teachers union or controversial congresswoman help or hurt?
A collection of endorsements from Wisconsin’s 2026 campaigns. Collage by Anya van Wagtendonk/WPR
Visit the website of most any candidate running for governor, state Legislature or Congress right now, and you’ll find — among the gleaming headshots, calls for donations and links to social media pages — a list of the people and groups that support their candidacy.
Less than four months out from the August primary, polls show that most people aren’t really focused yet on Wisconsin’s next big election. Candidates hoping to grab their attention are turning to a familiar tactic: endorsements.
Whether endorsements work depends on variables that change every election, from the mood of voters to the number of candidates and — importantly — who’s doing the endorsing.
In a crowded primary or in smaller races, small cues, hints or nudges can make a big difference, said Mordecai Lee, a former Democratic state lawmaker and emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“The smaller the turnout, the better a chance that an endorsement will count,” said Lee.
Take, for instance, a few recent endorsements in the Democratic primary for governor, where seven people with similar policy views are vying for the nod.
After Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, received the support of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers union, she launched a week of campaigning centered around that endorsement.
And when U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., threw her weight behind Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, Hong’s progressive base cheered — but she also received a flood of angry and sometimes obscene messages on social media denouncing the Minnesota congresswoman.
In a primary where a person could win with less than a sixth of the vote, these cues — from locally and nationally prominent groups and figures — offer credibility to candidates still working to simply establish name recognition, said Lee.
Whether a teachers union has the same weight as it once did, or whether Omar’s divisive presence could turn off more moderate voters, isn’t as important when appealing to a party base — which is how you clinch a primary.
“If you’re appealing to a narrow silo of voters, and the endorsement is a signal that, ‘Yes, I’m that person, I’m that person who fits in the category of who you want to be the winner of the primary,’ then it’s very valuable,” Lee said.
Sometimes, Lee said, an endorsement serves its purpose when it merely gets media attention, and voters find it that way.
“Campaigns need product, and the media needs product,” said Lee.
But how much they matter to voters themselves is an open question.
As the general election draws nearer, and candidates are looking to capture support from Wisconsin’s murkier middle voters, endorsements will play a different role. That’s when the parties generally settle into their expected camps, so the endorsements that matter are hard-won or unusual, said Kevin DeLuca, a political scientist at Yale who studies media and politics.
“The endorsements that do matter are when they’re surprising endorsements,” he said.
The Trump endorsement
And then there’s President Donald Trump. For a decade, he’s been the standard-bearer for the Republican Party, and he’s placed his stamp on hundreds of candidates running for offices large and small.
January endorsements from Trump transformed the Republican field in the governor’s race, and may have tilted a congressional race, too.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks before Vice President JD Vance’s remarks Thursday Feb. 26, 2026, at Pointe Precision in Plover, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Right after Tom Tiffany got Trump’s endorsement for governor, one Republican opponent dropped out. And since getting the Trump endorsement in the 7th Congressional District, Michael Alfonso has expressed a level of confidence unusual for a political newcomer, declining to participate in debates while his opponents criticize a premature coronation.
“During the primary, the Trump endorsement is a key thing,” said DeLuca. “You really need that, because that’s what the primary voters are keying into in the Republican context.”
But research shows that, in a general election, Trump’s endorsement isn’t as persuasive. While he’s popular among his base, he also motivates Democrats to turn out against him and his preferred candidates in general elections.
In 2022, Trump’s endorsement of construction executive Tim Michels helped him defeat former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the GOP primary, even though Kleefisch had the backing of numerous Wisconsin Republicans and had a months-long head start.
Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels shakes hands with former President Donald Trump at a Waukesha campaign rally on Aug. 5, 2022. Trump endorsed Michels in the Republican primary for governor. Shawn Johnson/WPR
It was a different story for Michels in the general election, where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers campaigned against Michels for his Trump connection, defeating Michels by around 3 percentage points.
Candidates are well aware of the risks of provocative endorsements when it comes to statewide races, which are frequently decided by razor-thin margins in Wisconsin. But for Republicans like Tiffany, a Trump endorsement is effectively mandatory. And for Democrats in crowded primaries, a national figure like Omar can help them stand out.
“You don’t turn down an opportunity to win the primary,” Lee said. “And you’ll worry about the consequences later.”
Wisconsin candidates tout endorsements as primary season heats up was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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