It’s that loyalty that often discourages elected officials from making endorsements. Endorse the wrong candidate, and the winning candidate will remember. Even if you endorse the candidate who wins, the losing candidate can hold a grudge for years.
“Well, normally, the smart move is to sit on the sidelines until it becomes clear who the nominee is likely to be,” says Stephen Farnsworth, political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “It’s a real challenge for Bernie Sanders when you are facing a candidate who is seen as, basically, inevitable.”
