Newspaper Endorsements: 2002, 2004, 2006, p. 3
The tendency of U.S. daily newspapers to endorse Republican presidential
candidates is well documented. Editor & Publisher magazine has tracked presidential
endorsements since 1940; in only three of the elections (1964, Goldwater v. Johnson;
1992, Clinton, Bush and Perot; 2004 Kerry v. Bush) did the majority of endorsing dailies
fail to pick the GOP nominee.
The endorsement tendencies at the middle and bottom of the ballot are not quite
so well documented. This article reviews what is known about U.S. daily newspaper
non-presidential endorsements. The past work suggests a series of expectations,
especially tendencies to favor Republicans, conservatives, and incumbents. These
expectations are tested against a national sample of endorsements from the 2002, 2004,
and 2006 general elections.
Literature Review
Past research reveals not only clues about national endorsement patterns, but also
reasons that newspaper endorsements are important.
Candidates certainly regard
newspaper endorsements as "the single greatest free media support."
Voters responding
to one survey found Orlando Sentinel endorsements useful. Twenty three percent said
the endorsements had helped them decide for whom to vote; 47% considered the
endorsements very or somewhat helpful. About one in three could name at least one
candidate recommended by the newspaper.
The trade and popular press teem with testimonials to the value of newspaper
endorsements. Recently newspaper endorsements have been credited with the tightening
The author is grateful to University of Tennessee graduate student Amy Drews for her assistance in
obtaining some of the cited articles.
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