Sarah Palin Endorsements Boast Winning Record, Tarnished By Key Losses
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The power of an endorsement is far from a perfect science, but if Sarah Palin subscribes to the belief that the only thing that matters is a win, she's probably feeling pretty good about her slate of candidates after Tuesday's election.
Palin divvied out 61 total endorsements of House, Senate, and governor candidates in the run up to the midterm elections. Ten of these candidates lost their primary battles during rather paltry first few rounds of endorsements, leaving 51 to face voters on election day. Now, with most of the final races finally wrapping up, however, Palin has put forth a rather impressive performance, showing off a ratio of 29 wins to 17 losses (five races such as Alaska Senate and Minnesota Governor, as well as some smaller congressional races are still awaiting official results).
In many of these House races, Palin hung her name on candidates who played key roles in helping the GOP take back majority leadership of chamber. She also fared well overall in picking gubernatorial winners across the nation, finishing with six governors in the win column, not to mention big wins for Republican Senate candidates Rand Paul, Kelly Ayotte and Pat Toomey. While it's impossible to tell if her endorsement had any effect on the outcomes of those races, the results and the general trend of the election are likely to favor Palin's brand of conservatism going forward into a potential 2012 presidential run.
The biggest buzzkill for the Palin stamp, however, is likely the failure of her name to count, or maybe even to hurt, in some key races that were both more risky for her to get involved in, as well as more important for the GOP to capture.
Vital Senate races in California, Nevada, West Virginia and Delaware -- contests that the GOP hoped and believed they could win -- were also the areas of Palin's most outspoken activity, and seats that Republicans were unable to take.
Below is a comprehensive list of all of the candidates that Palin has failed to deliver for. Take a look and vote for the mama grizzly's most epic fail.
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The Huffington Post Nick Wing First Posted: 11/03/10 07:41 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:10 PM ET