Do endorsements matter? The role they play in local races

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- There are only a couple months left before Austinites will head to the polls to vote for mayor and potentially a new city council member for their district.

From the Austin Police Association Political Action Committee, to the Austin Central Labor Council to Community Powered ATX to the Liberal Austin Democrats -- endorsements are pouring out for local races.

Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward's University, said those endorsements for local races are "hugely important" because the races are nonpartisan -- meaning you won't have an 'R' or a 'D' to rely on in the voting booth.

"You just can't fall back on your party ID, and you need to find information in other ways, and what endorsements do is they give a candidate credibility when there isn't a lot of information out there," Smith said. That's particularly important in local races where candidates don't get as much attention as those running for say senate or president.

It can be overwhelming -- with candidates making announcements in newsletters on social media and through the mail announcing new endorsements as we near November.

"I think what they're looking for sometimes is not the quality of the endorsement, but the quantity. Usually, you're going to see a whole host of different organizations endorsing a candidate. So people are going to look to see how many endorsements they have," Smith said.

Endorsements in the mayoral race

This list of candidates is in the order you will see them on your ballot. You can read about each candidate here.

Carmen Llanes Pulido

• Anne-Charlotte Patterson, Vice Chair of the Austin Music Commission
• Community leader Dr. Kazique Prince

Llanes Pulido has been announcing endorsements using social media.

Jeffery L. Bowen

On Aug. 19, the final day to file to be on the ballot, Bowen announced he was running for mayor He just recently unveiled his website and endorsements are not yet available.

Doug Greco

• LGBTQ+ Victory Fund
• AISD Trustee Ofelia Zapata
• Dolores Huerta and the Dolores Huerta Action Fund

You can find endorsement announcements for Doug Greco here.

Mayor Kirk Watson

• IAFF Local 975 (Austin Firefighters Association)
• Austin-Travis County EMS employee association
• Home Builders Association of Greater Austin

You can find a full list of campaign endorsers for Mayor Kirk Watson here.

Kathie Tovo

• Sierra Club Political Committee of Texas

Tovo does not have a list of endorsements on her website and does not have recent posts on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) announcing endorsements.