Party leaders should avoid endorsing candidates in primaries

State Republican Party leaders should avoid endorsing candidates in primaries. To do so creates the impression that the desires of party bosses are more important than the will of the voters.

Party officials have traditionally declared neutrality until the voters chose their nominee through the primary election.

That's changing. State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson endorsed candidates before the primaries this year, in effect choosing some Republicans over others. Earlier this year, Spartanburg County Republican Party Chairman Rick Beltram endorsed candidates in the primaries.

Dawson defends his actions by citing the need to make sure the party chooses the most viable candidate, the one who can raise money and compete effectively.

Beltram justified his endorsements by claiming the need to identify truly loyal Republicans to the voters.

Officials throughout both parties have often interfered in primaries by pressuring a candidate to drop out to preserve unity or avoid a costly battle. But public endorsements in primary contests are more than just an acknowledgement of what has been going on behind the scenes. There are significant dangers to this change in the political process.

Primaries are the responsibility of the parties that hold them, and voters should have confidence that the primaries are run in a fair, impartial manner.

It's fine for candidates to round up all the endorsements they can from other elected officials. But when party heads endorse one party member over another, voters are going to wonder whether their vote counts as much as the tilting of the party machinery toward the candidate endorsed.

Rather than asking voters affiliated with the party to pick the nominee, it seems as though party bosses are asking voters to ratify their selections.

The endorsements are likely to mean little to the average voter. But they may mean more to party workers at the local level, moving the structure of the party organization toward one candidate. That can easily create the appearance of an unfair system.

Endorsements by party leaders can also create the appearance that the party is not interested in recruiting new candidates and new ideas but is only engaged in supporting its current slate of candidates.

Party officials would do better to concentrate on building their parties and recruiting a number of qualified candidates from which their members can then choose.