An analysis of notable endorsements of Democratic presidential candidates
The 17 Democratic elected officials and notable public figures running for president have received a combined 173 noteworthy endorsements, according to a review of a list of endorsements compiled by FiveThirtyEight through Nov. 22.
Noteworthy endorsers include current and former presidents and vice presidents, current and former party leaders, governors and other state executives, members of Congress, mayors of large cities, state legislative majority and minority leaders, and Democratic National Committee (DNC) members.
Sixty-nine percent of Democratic governors and members of Congress have yet to endorse a candidate in the primary. This includes 70% of Democratic governors, 66% of the party’s U.S. Senators, and 69% of the Democratic representatives in the House.
Joe Biden leads with 40 noteworthy endorsements, followed by Kamala Harris with 35 and Bernie Sanders with 23. Six noteworthy candidates—Tulsi Gabbard, Deval Patrick, Joe Sestak, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang—have not received any such endorsements.
Of the 23 Democratic governors, six have endorsed a presidential candidate and one—Steve Bullock of Montana—is running for president. Biden, Cory Booker, Harris, and Amy Klobuchar have each been endorsed by their home state’s governors. Biden was also endorsed by Govs. Ned Lamont (Conn.) and Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.). Sixteen Democratic governors have yet to endorse a candidate.
Of the 47 Democratic members of the U.S. Senate, 10 have endorsed a presidential candidate and six are running for president—thus, 31 senators have not endorsed a candidate. Five senators have endorsed Biden, which is more than any other candidate. Booker, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren were each endorsed by their fellow home-state senator. Harris’ fellow California senator—Dianne Feinstein—endorsed Biden, and Michael Bennet’s fellow Colorado senator—Cory Gardner—is a Republican.
Of the 236 Democratic U.S. House members—including the three nonvoting members—71 have endorsed a presidential candidate and one—Gabbard—is running for president. Biden has the most congressional endorsements with 19, followed by Harris with 17 and Booker with 11.
Three presidential candidates have received noteworthy endorsements from officeholders in early voting states—Iowa (Feb. 3), New Hampshire (Feb. 11), Nevada (Feb. 22), and South Carolina (Feb. 29):
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Bullock was endorsed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and DNC member Jan Bauer.
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Julián Castro was endorsed by Nevada DNC member Allison Stephens.
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Warren was endorsed by Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, Nevada state Controller Catherine Byrne, and Nevada DNC member Alex Goff.
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