It’s no guarantee of a primary election victory, but receiving the Cook County Democratic Party’s endorsement is plenty meaningful to Brendan A. O’Brien — both historically and politically.

The Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP partner’s family roots in the local Democratic Party run deep.

His grandfather, Donald O’Brien Sr., served as a state senator and Cook County Democratic Party committeeman before he spent 20 years on the bench and retired in 1980. His father, Donald O’Brien Jr., received an endorsement from the party during his campaign for Cook County circuit judge in the early 1990s.

Brendan followed in his family’s footsteps when he made the Cook County Democratic Party’s slate for his bid to become a Cook County circuit judge in the 2016 election.

The endorsement came as party committees spent Tuesday and Wednesday listening to state, local and federal candidates tout reasons to receive its support ahead of the March 15 primary election.

Among the party’s judicial endorsements, it slated eight candidates for the Cook County Circuit Court, two for the 1st District Appellate Court and endorsed the re-election of Circuit Clerk Dorothy A. Brown. — first elected in 2000.

Six of the eight slated circuit judge candidates already serve as circuit judges by Supreme Court appointment. Including O’Brien, the candidates are:

These candidates could not be reached for comment.

Forty-two individuals in all sought circuit judge endorsements. In the event that another vacancy occurs on the bench between now and the primary, the party also designated five alternates who could fill those spots.

For two vacancies on the 1st District Appellate Court, the party endorsed Appellate Justice Bertina E. Lampkin and Circuit Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke.

Lampkin was assigned by the Supreme Court to the 1st District bench in 2009. The high court shifted her to the elected seat vacated by the January 2014 death of former justice Patrick J. Quinn.

With four candidates eyeing the Cook County state’s attorney gig, including incumbent Anita M. Alvarez, no candidate received the minimum 50 percent of the central committee’s weighted vote to earn an endorsement.

A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office could not be reached for comment.

Alvarez faces primary challengers Donna B. More, a partner at Fox, Rothschild LLP; Kimberly M. Foxx, chief of staff to Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle; and John A. Fritchey IV, a Cook County Commissioner and president of F4 Consulting Ltd.

Candidates may begin circulating nomination papers Sept. 1 and must file their candidacy with the state board of elections between Nov. 23 and 30.

Though candidates have bucked the party’s preference and won without endorsements, O’Brien said the endorsement still carries plenty of weight.

“It means a lot to me from a historical standpoint as well as for accomplishing what I hope to accomplish in the future,” he said. “To me, I don’t think it’s diminished that much. (Endorsed candidates have) a proven track record of winning, but for me it’s in my blood. We’re Democrats.”

O’Brien has spent 16 of his 19 years as a lawyer at Hinshaw & Culbertson, and he’s been a partner at the firm for 13 years. His practice focuses primarily on defending hospitals and doctors in medical-malpractice cases at the Daley Center.

He called becoming a judge “a dream.”

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, something I think I’d be good at,” he said. “I think I’ve got a good solid base on the law and civil practice in the Daley Center.”

Lampkin is also determined to win a seat on the bench she’s grown accustomed to sitting on.

“I’ve been working my entire life to reach this goal, to have the reputation that I have and to love the law like I do,” she said.

Lampkin has been a judge for 28 years, 22 of them in the trial court. She said getting appointed to the appellate court in 2009 made her feel like she had “died and gone to heaven” because it meant she could hear more than just criminal cases.

“When I got into the appellate court and I started doing insurance cases and personal-injury cases and medical-malpractice cases, the variety was like, ‘Oh my God, this is wonderful,” she said. “Every day is like a new learning experience, and I felt like I got 10 years younger.”

She said she enjoyed visiting different political events because it helped her learn things about the lives of different committeemen while they got to learn about her.

“I have a greater respect for the political process, and I didn’t know what to expect. But many people said my credentials made me a perfect fit for the job,” she said. “For me, it was a wonderful experience.”