Do party endorsements really matter when it comes to elections?

She didn't win her party's endorsement, but Republican Lisa Demuth plans to keep running for governor anyway.

History shows that might actually work in her favor.

The dust has settled on another state party convention weekend.

On the DFL side, endorsements were given to Sen. Amy Klobuchar for governor and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate.

For the GOP, endorsements were given to Kendall Qualls for Governor and Adam Schwarze for U.S. Senate.

While an endorsement doesn't guarantee victory in November, it does come with some assurances.

"The number one advantage for those getting the endorsement is the public attention," said Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota. "They also get resources from the party. This can include lists of voters; it could also include volunteers."

Schwarze said he was excited about the volunteers. 

"Now I just went from a few hundred volunteers to 2,500 at the convention last night," he told WCCO.

All that support undoubtedly strengthens a campaign. But the party endorsement's success rate, specifically for electing Minnesota's governor, hasn't gone well.

It started in the 1980s when Democrat Rudy Purpich won the gubernatorial race without the endorsement. Republican Arne Carlson would do the same years later.

Jesse Ventura, the pro wrestler turned Independent, needed no help from either party to be elected governor. And the two most recent DFL governors, Mark Dayton and Tim Walz, both won over voters in the primary and November despite missing their party's endorsement.

How did those candidates find success without the full backing of their party? It was a combination of name recognition and experience.

Perpich, Carlson, Dayton, and Walz were all successful politicians in the state prior to being elected governor.

"They also had financial resources that made them quite competitive. They were able to mobilize supporters that had already been there for them in the past. So, they had a network," Jacobs said.

Where the endorsement truly carries weight is down the ballot. Jacobs said if voters don't know much about the candidates in the smaller races, they're more inclined to trust who their party endorsed.

"When it comes to the bigger name, more competitive battles in the primary which there's money, there's advertising, there's controversy, that's when it opens it up and the party endorsing process does not necessarily call the shots," said Jacobs.

Minnesota's primary election day is Tuesday, Aug. 11. That's when voters decide which candidates make the November ballot.