The Washington Post has received a ton of attention for its decision not to endorse a presidential candidate, but it’s hardly the only paper to pull the plug on formally backing a nominee.
The has received a lot of attention for its decision not to endorse a presidential candidate after widespread internal backlash, but it’s hardly the only paper to pull the plug on formally backing a nominee ahead of Election Day.
The has been in disarray since its decision was announced, with many liberal staffers publicly condemning the decision not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. There have been resignations from Post staffers and editorial board members, a mass exodus of subscribers and owner Jeff Bezos even had to defend the « principled decision » in a rare op-ed.
The Post’s ordeal came on the heels of the Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong declaring that his paper would not endorse any candidate in the presidential race, citing divisive times. Like the Post, the LA. Times had predictably backed Democrats for president in the past, although it started in 2008, while the Post had been doing endorsements in every election except one (1988) since 1976.
On Monday, USA Today followed the Post and LA Times and announced it wouldn’t publish an endorsement.
« While USA TODAY will not endorse for president, local editors at publications across the USA TODAY Network have the discretion to endorse at a state or local level », USA Today spokesperson Lark-Marie Antón told Fox News Digital.
« Why are we doing this? Because we believe America’s future is decided locally – one race at a time. And with more than 200 publications across the nation, our public service is to provide readers with the facts that matter and the trusted information they need to make informed decisions », the spokesperson added.
The Minnesota Star Tribune was out in front of other papers, as it announced in August that it would refrain from endorsing a candidate.
« This election season, we’re going to try something different in Strib Voices: Rather than issue candidate or ballot endorsements, we’re going to evaluate the key issues relevant to the most important contests, and offer readers a studied perspective on how they might view them at the ballot box. We’ll also offer the candidates from each party in every major race in Minnesota the chance to make their own arguments for why they deserve your vote », Minnesota Star Tribune opinion editor Phil Morris wrote.
