Is Obama endorsement coming too late to matter to Joe Biden’s political fortunes?

Former President Barack Obama is expected to endorse Vice President Joe Biden today via a video message, but is the endorsement coming too late? Northwestern political scientist Alvin Tillery thinks it might be.  

“The race is now over, Mr. Sanders has endorsed Mr. Biden and Black voters have already demonstrated in contest after contest that Biden is their preference,” Tillery said.

In addition to Tillery, political scientist Jaime Dominguez also is available to comment. Dominguez said the endorsement can still be beneficial to Biden, and could infuse the campaign with energy, enthusiasm and cash.

Alvin Tillery is an associate professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern. His research and teaching interests are in the fields of American politics and political theory. His research in American politics focuses on American political development, racial and ethnic politics and media and politics. He can be reached at alvin.tillery@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Tillery
“Former President Barack Obama’s decision to endorse his former vice president Joe Biden today is a long-awaited development in the Democratic Party’s nominating contest. While there is no doubt that Mr. Biden will value the endorsement, and it may help him by generating some headlines that will punch through the continuous media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the endorsement is coming too late to really matter to Mr. Biden’s political fortunes. The race is now over, Mr. Sanders has endorsed Mr. Biden, and Black voters have already demonstrated in contest after contest that Biden is their preference. 

“If there is a king maker in the 2020 Democratic nomination race, it is Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) not President Obama. And, I suspect that this is precisely what President Obama wanted all along. As an insurgent candidate himself in 2008, President Obama always seemed unwilling to use his role as the nominal head of the party to publicly tip the scales in one direction or another. What he seems to be signaling with this endorsement today is that he is now ready to enter the fray as a political surrogate for Mr. Biden.”

Jaime Dominguez is an assistant professor of instruction in the department of political science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern. His teaching and research focuses on race and ethnicity, immigration, urban politics, Latino politics and Chicago politics. He can be reached at j-dominguez@northwestern.edu.

Quote from Professor Dominguez
“The Obama endorsement will now bring cohesiveness and inject the Democratic party with necessary enthusiasm needed to energize the base. In addition, it will usher in a gush of funding that will sustain Vice President Biden’s candidacy and even help out those Democratic candidates on the down ballot.  We can expect President Obama to be now be active in the presidential race because he still remains the most popular and influential figure in the party.”