One question TBD: How much endorsement weight the “undercard” debaters will have if they drop out and throw their support behind another candidate.
- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — second runner-up for the GOP nomination in 2012. May hold sway with opponents of abortion and religious conservatives.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — co-chairman of Sen. John McCain’s 2008 election committee. South Carolina’s primary comes third, after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire, and if Graham drops out before the Feb. 20 primary, he’ll be highly sought after for an endorsement.
- Former New York Gov. George Pataki — He was on the short list for veep in the 2000 George W. Bush ticket. NY state runs blue as the ocean, so his endorsement probably won’t sway much.
- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — the state went to the Democratic candidate in ’92 and ’96 but it has been a red state in the presidential race since then. But considering his statewide approval ratings have been as low as 27 percent this year, he may not have much pull over voters either way.