From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. –

One of the main things national political prognosticators will be looking at tonight in Alaska is the effect of Sarah Palin's endorsement of Joe Miller over incumbent Lisa Murkowski in the GOP U.S. Senate race.

The former Alaska governor has been using her megaphone to actively endorse candidates this election cycle -- everyone from her 2008 running mate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Maryland who's so obscure his name wasn't even mentioned when pollsters surveyed likely voters.

So far, she has a 16-10 win-loss record, with 16 of her endorsements still to be decided, including four tonight in Florida, Arizona and Alaska.

If Murkowski prevails in Alaska, many in what Palin deems the "lamestream media" might write off the former governor's failed backing of Miller as a sign of her diminished standing in her own state, let alone the lower 48.

Palin, though, might see it differently. When she endorsed Miller, she announced it on Facebook with this headline: "Competition's Good! Joe Miller for Alaska."

"Competition makes everyone work harder, be more efficient, debate clearer, and produce more," she wrote. "So, Alaskans should be thrilled that Joe Miller jumped in the GOP race and is ready, willing, and able to serve us as our next United States Senator."

I spoke to Colorado pollster Floyd Ciruli for his sense of what Palin stands to gain from her endorsements across the country.

"One of the techniques one does for one's political future, whatever that might be – whether it's running for president or a talk show or selling books – is to help people in the midterm," Ciruli said. "More importantly she will have contributed to the kind of networking activities, and building the direct relationships that you need if you are interested in the (presidential) nomination."

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney, for example, will be visiting 25 states across the country over the next ten weeks, CNN reported. A Romney adviser told CNN that the former Massachusetts governor has endorsed more than 150 Republican candidates and contributing more than $400,000 this election cycle.

In Palin's case, she's using her personality to raise money for – and the image of – the candidates she's backing "in a very Palin way," Ciruli said. That includes endorsing candidates who will benefit from her exposure, but who are unlikely to win.

"She's been much more kind of an image candidate, helping women, helping the long shots," he said. "She has been willing to go for people who appear to have less chance. There's sort of a lack of calculation. You assume that there's a big picture, and that is that she's obviously actively politically engaged and this could lead to lots of friends in the upcoming presidential nomination. On the other hand, you don't see that sort of very careful calculation of trying to get people who are likely to win or that can be particularly useful to her. It's sort of all over the place."

And he points out something that will be familiar to Alaskans. Palin's endorsements, while seemingly scattershot, have been leaning toward a mix of women and outsider candidates whose own stories reinforce her longtime narrative as a maverick who had to fight the Republican political establishment in her own state.