It generally undermines public confidence in judges. I hope this is a fair summary of the argument against a political party making endorsements. I hope it is a fair summary because, all things considered, I still cannot justify telling a group of citizens that they should not engage in a basic American political activity. This is an interesting contention, that the exercise of the Bill of Rights is unhealthy. There is no evidence that party endorsements have had ill effects.
Candidates remain tightly bound by a code of conduct.
The restraint falls properly on the candidates, and not the citizens, who should be free to assemble and shout their partisanship to the sky. It is not a coincidence that some who arae critical of party endorsements also wish that trial judges were not elected in the first place. But that is an entirely separate issue. As it stands, the people elect their judges. St. Petersburg Times.