Cross-posted from Show Me Progress:
There are endorsements and then there are ENDORSEMENTS. If a state rep endorses Mike Garman (running for the Democratic nomination in Todd Akin’s district), that’s nice. If the Missouri AFL-CIO endorses Garman–in May!–that’s huge. For several reasons.
First, an endorsement during a primary race is unprecedented. One St. Charles Democratic official with ties to labor told me that he can’t remember the AFL-CIO endorsing in a primary contest. But it happened. The Missouri AFL-CIO’s Executive Council and its president, Hugh McVey, have announced their endorsements in Missouri’s federal races: Russ Carnahan, Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, Ike Skelton (no surprises so far), Kay Barnes (also not a surprise) and … Mike Garman.
Now that the endorsement is in place, money from the international union in D.C. might follow. The Missouri chapter of the AFL-CIO can write letters of recommendation urging the parent union to lend support to any of the endorsed Missouri candidates.
And finally, the state AFL-CIO will send out 2-5 mailers to let its members know who it’s endorsing. In St. Charles County, 35 percent of the voters are union members. Presumably, that percentage would be considerably higher among Democratic voters. Lots of those union Dems will note Garman’s name on a mailer and vote for him.
When I talked to Mike last night, he was elated with the news. He feels that people in St. Charles County respect him as a hard worker who knows first-hand the problems they face. He pointed out that for months now he’s been working a forty-hour a week job running the ambulance service in one of the St. Charles ambulance districts, then campaigning sixty hours a week and getting four hours of sleep a night. A few nights back, he knocked on 300 doors–in pouring rain.
Sheer doggedness has made Mike a serious contender in this race, and this endorsement can’t do anything but help his chances.
By the way, I wrote about Mike in December here and here, in case you want to know more about him.
neutral between MO-02 Dems. This is a pretty big deal for the primary, though, and if the AFL-CIO puts some work behind that endorsement, they’ve probably sealed the primary race for Garman.
Whoever comes out of the primary will still face a steep climb against Todd Akin.