Does Trump's endorsement make a difference in primaries?

+ how Ukraine's Zelenskyy uses history; pronoun battles in school US Edition - Today's top story: Trump-endorsed candidates would generally win even without his support – and that's usually the case with all political endorsements [View in browser]( US Edition | 16 June 2022 [The Conversation]( For more than two decades I covered politics in Maine. I spent a lot of time under the Statehouse dome, chasing down lawmakers. But I also traveled the state, deep inland and west of the rocky coastal areas most tourists think of when they imagine Maine. I got to know farmers, small-business owners, fast-food workers, teachers and the dwindling number of Mainers who fished for a living. And what I learned, pretty quickly, is that these people knew politics almost as well as any well-paid, well-heeled lobbyist in the state capitol. They knew who was serving the public interest. That’s why I have been feeling annoyed over the past couple of months as I’ve seen story after story in the national press about how Donald Trump was telling voters how to vote – and the voters mostly did what he told them to do. “Trump pick Herschel Walker wins Georgia’s Republican Senate primary,” read one recent headline. “How Trump-backed candidates fared on the busiest primary day,” read another. As if Trump’s endorsements – not actual voters’ ideas, values and preferences – were all that mattered in the primary. It’s a cheap way of covering an election from a national news organization – you don’t really need to go talk to people to see what they’re thinking. You just look for Trump signs. Or signs of Trump. Political scientist Ian Anson, who teaches at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, shared my sense that something was wrong with this coverage. It turns out, as he wrote for us this week, that Trump’s presence and effect in these races was not crucial to the fortunes of those he endorsed – [and his influence was being overstated](. “It is more likely that most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races,” Anson writes. “The so-called ‘Trump bump’ is mostly a reflection of the attributes a candidate already had before the endorsement.” Notably, whether candidates are incumbents weighs heavily on their chances, along with their political skills, financial resources and ideology. In the end, “endorsements do little to persuade voters to shift their support from one candidate to another,” Anson writes. In other words, voters can think for themselves. Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance won his primary after Trump endorsed him. AP Photo/Joe Maiorana [Trump-endorsed candidates would generally win even without his support – and that’s usually the case with all political endorsements]( Ian Anson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Bottom line: Political endorsements are overrated. A video image shows the U.S. Capitol grounds being breached as the House Jan. 6 committee holds its first public hearing. Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP [Jan. 6 hearing gives primetime exposure to violent footage and dramatic evidence – the question is, to what end?]( Mark Satta, Wayne State University; Claire Leavitt, Grinnell College; Ken Hughes, University of Virginia The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol held its first hearing to present what it has learned during its almost year-long probe. Three scholars analyze the event. U.S. President Richard Nixon at a White House lectern reading a farewell speech to his staff following his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974. George Tames/New York Times Co./Getty Images [Woodward and Bernstein didn’t bring down a president in Watergate – but the myth that they did lives on]( W. Joseph Campbell, American University School of Communication Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke stories about the Watergate scandal that helped unravel Richard Nixon’s presidency. But they were not the sole force to bring him down. - [International courts prosecuting leaders like Putin for war crimes have a mixed record – but offer clues on how to get a conviction]( Victor Peskin, Arizona State University Prosecuting a leader like Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes is difficult. But the trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the early 2000s offers a potential playbook. - [Your past is my present – how Volodymyr Zelenskyy uses history]( Anil Menon, University of Michigan; Pauline Jones, University of Michigan History brought Ukraine’s plight home to people around the world, and helped mobilize political and military support against the Russian invasion. - [Legal fights persist over policies that require teachers to refer to trans students by their chosen pronouns]( Genny Beemyn, UMass Amherst For trans students, the right to be recognized by the pronouns they use for themselves is under constant legal attack. A researcher who specializes in the trans student experience takes a closer look. - [Juneteenth celebrates just one of the United States’ 20 emancipation days – and the history of how emancipated people were kept unfree needs to be remembered, too]( Kris Manjapra, Tufts University Known as Juneteenth in Texas, Emancipation Days symbolized America’s attempt to free the enslaved across the nation. But those days were unable to prevent new forms of economic slavery. - [‘Show’ trial of foreign fighters in Donetsk breaks with international law – and could itself be a war crime]( Robert Goldman, American University The prosecution and death sentences handed out to two British and one Moroccan national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops contravenes the Geneva Conventions. - [Privacy isn’t in the Constitution – but it’s everywhere in constitutional law]( Scott Skinner-Thompson, University of Colorado Boulder The Supreme Court has found protections for people’s privacy in several constitutional amendments – and used it as a basis for some pretty fundamental protections. - [When all else fails to explain American violence, blame a rapper and hip-hop music]( A.D. Carson, University of Virginia Since rap music emerged in mainstream culture in the late 1980s, conservatives have derided its lyrics and imagery as violent. But hip-hop artists argue those images reflect urban realities. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Weekly Highlights]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](