McCain Gets Brownback—How Much Will It Help?

Just three weeks after he dropped his bid for the White House, Sam Brownback endorsed John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination today—a move that could prove pivotal in the Arizona senator's bid to reclaim momentum in the campaign.

The move comes on the heels of two other prominent endorsements in the race by social conservatives this week. On Tuesday, Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich threw his support behind Mitt Romney. And this morning Rudy Giuliani announced that he had won the support of televangelist Pat Robertson, a huge get for the mayor, who has struggled to win support among social conservatives.

While each endorsement is no doubt a plus to the candidate who won it, it's clear that the values-voter movement, which was unified behind George W. Bush, is now splintering in spite of months of efforts to agree on one GOP candidate heading into 2008. And with the social conservative voting bloc up for grabs, the fight for endorsements is getting fiercer—particularly as rank-and-file religious-right voters struggle to find their perfect candidate in a field where no one is perfect on their key issues.

The speed of the McCain endorsement was surprising. Late last week Brownback told NEWSWEEK that he was not yet close to endorsing anyone and wanted to weigh his options for a bit longer. "I need some time to get my head clear," he said. He had already met with Rudy Giuliani, a meeting that stoked speculation that he might endorse the former New York City mayor in spite of Giuliani's moderate views on abortion. Brownback's staff had told former campaign supporters in Iowa and South Carolina that they'd be surprised to see him endorse anyone before Thanksgiving—in spite of the tremendous lobbying efforts coming from Brownback's former GOP rivals.

Talking to NEWSWEEK, Brownback seemed mystified at the jockeying for his endorsement. Considered a long shot for the nomination almost from the very beginning, the Kansas senator never garnered more than single digits in national polls, though his operation in Iowa was taken seriously. But a poor showing at the Ames Straw Poll in August and fund-raising trouble ended his bid. "They seem to put a lot of weight on what I'm going to do," Brownback told NEWSWEEK. "I don't know if it's that they see [my endorsement] as worth a lot—or that it would be costly to them if someone else gets it."

Brownback's choice of McCain was less surprising than the timing. The two men are personal friends, thanks to their time serving together in the Senate. On the trail McCain has praised Brownback's stance on Iraq and his outspokenness on issues like poverty and the genocide in Darfur. Brownback, in turn, shares McCain's compassionate view on immigration. When Brownback quit the race, two of his top campaign aides in Iowa joined the McCain campaign—prompting the Arizona senator to pour some additional resources into the state, in spite of the fact that he's almost last in polling there and has almost no money compared to his rivals.