Congressional endorsements, do they really matter?

With public disapproval of the way Congress is doing their job coming in at around 83%, we have got to ask, will Congressional endorsements even matter to the 2016 Presidential election?

Earlier today Kevin McCarthy, the frontrunner candidate for Speaker of the House, dropped out of the race. Immediately, members started bouncing around other names, many of whom showed little interest, for example Paul Ryan. Members are unsure if any of the candidates will be able to muster enough votes and there is a time crunch to elect a new Speaker before Boehner officially leaves office. The House is in chaos, and the American public is noticing. So with approval rating of Congress so low and the position for Speaker up for grabs, wouldn't Presidential candidates want to distance themselves from the institution?

In all fairness, there are a handful of candidates running on the "anti-establishment" and "anti-politics" platform. Ben Carson and Donald Trump, for example, have never held public office and they're using that to their advantage. It's no secret that they aren't politicians. Since day one they have focused on their outsiderness as a way to say they will be different form the failing institution Americans have lost faith in. As a result, it's not surprising that neither Presidential candidate has been endorsed by a member of Congress. On the other end of the Republican primaries, you have Jeb Bush, a candidate that is deeply rooted in the Republican Party. Consequently, Bush has the endorsements of 20 Representatives and 3 Senators. This isn't an accident. Bush is playing up his connection to the Republican Party in a very tactical way, just as Carson and Trump play down their connection to politics.

Across the aisle, is Democratic nominee front runner, Hillary Clinton. Clinton has already been endorsed by over a 140 members of Congress while her most competitive opponent, Bernie Sanders, is likely to receive his first endorsement this week. Years ago this would have been huge; Clinton would have been a lock for the nomination. But do Congressional endorsements really mean much? Many argue they do during party primaries, but with approval of Congress so low, I'd argue Congressional endorsements only matter to the people sitting on Capitol Hill. They don't matter to the everyday Americans, which is evident as Trump and Carson lead the polls in the Republican primaries.

But even if Congressional endorsements did matter, would they be a good thing? If Americans don't approve of the institutions, wouldn't candidates want to distance themselves from the institution? There might not be a benefit to endorsements but what if there are consequences to them? I'm excited to see how the relationship between Congress and the Presidential candidates will play out in the coming months and to see if more candidates adopt the "anti-establishment" approach by distancing themselves from Congress.

http://atr.rollcall.com/anti-establishment-furor-doesnt-stop-endorsements/?dcz=

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bernie-sanders-gets-his-first-congressional-endorsment