Endorsements for candidates - just how important are they?

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JUST HOW critical are endorsements to a successful election campaign?

A University of Maryland study has shown that talk show host Oprah Winfrey was responsible for winning US president Barack Obama millions of votes when she gave Obama the vote of confidence by declaring that he was "the one" in 2007.

But will such endorsements, like the one given to Dr Tony Tan by Joscelin Yeo, have a big impact here when voters take to the polls on Aug 28?

One expert says that while it doesn't guarantee a block vote, an endorsement from an organisation will give a candidate credibility when he makes a claim in a related area of interest.