2012 General Election Editorial Endorsements by Major Newspapers

Click on Link to Read Each Editorial   -   Changed Party Endorsements Indicated in Bold Italics
Last Updated on November 5 @ 22:15 GMT (Final Update)

Scorecard Barack Obama SPLIT
or
"undecided"
Mitt Romney NO
ENDORSEMENT
Total Endorsements 41 1 35 23
Total Circulation 10,014,980 78,819 6,475,815 7,028,874
 
Endorsed Obama in 2008 39 1 12 11
Endorsed McCain in 2008 1 0 22 3
Did not endorse in 2008 1 0 0 8
SPLIT in 2008 0 0 1 1
 
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Newspaper Circulation Endorsee Published 2008 Endorsee
The Wall Street Journal 2,118,315 Generally does not endorse candidates
USA Today 1,817,446 Does not endorse candidates
The New York Times 1,586,757 Obama October 27 Obama
Los Angeles Times 616,575 Obama October 21 Obama
The Daily News (New York) 579,636 Romney November 4 Obama
San Jose Mercury News 575,786 Obama October 27 Obama
New York Post 555,327 Romney October 25 McCain
The Washington Post 507,615 Obama October 25 Obama
Chicago Sun-Times 422,335 No longer endorses (1) Obama
Chicago Tribune 414,590 Obama October 26 Obama
The Dallas Morning News 405,349 Romney September 28 McCain
The Denver Post 401,120 Obama October 21 Obama
Newsday (Long Island, NY) 397,973 Romney November 3 Obama
Houston Chronicle 384,007 Romney October 21 Obama
The Philadelphia Inquirer 325,291 Obama October 14 Obama
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) 321,600 Romney October 21 McCain
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul) 300,330 Obama October 27 Obama
Tampa Bay Times (Formerly St. Petersburg Times) 299,497 Obama October 21 Obama
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) 286,405 Obama October 20 Obama
The Orange County Register (CA) 280,812 Did not endorse (10) none
The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) 278,940 Obama October 21 Obama
The Oregonian (Portland) 247,833 NONE August 14 Obama
The Seattle Times 236,929 Obama September 28 Obama
Detroit Free Press 232,696 Obama October 28 Obama
The San Diego Union-Tribune 230,742 Romney November 3 McCain
San Francisco Chronicle 229,176 Obama October 26 Obama
The Boston Globe 225,482 Obama October 29 Obama
Las Vegas Review-Journal 220,619 Romney October 7 McCain
Honolulu Star-Advertiser 209,915 Obama November 4 none
Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN) 205,171 Does not endorse candidates (2)
Kansas City Star 200,365 Obama October 27 Obama
The Sacramento Bee 196,667 Obama October 14 Obama
Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX) 195,455 Romney October 20 Obama
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 188,545 Obama October 28 Obama
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 188,405 Romney October 20 McCain
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 187,992 Obama October 7 Obama
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel 185,710 No longer endorses (3) Obama
The Baltimore Sun 179,574 Obama November 2 Obama
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock) 179,258 Romney October 23 McCain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 174,251 No longer endorses (4) Obama
Orlando Sentinel 173,576 Romney October 19 Obama
Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 165,974 Romney October 26 Obama
The Indianapolis Star 164,640 NONE August 19 SPLIT
The Miami Herald 160,988 Obama October 26 Obama
Investor’s Business Daily (Los Angeles) 156,269 Romney November 2 McCain
The Record (Hackensack, NJ) 155,236 Obama November 4 Obama
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) 154,033 Obama November 4 Obama
The Buffalo News 147,085 Obama October 27 Obama
Charlotte Observer 146,511 Obama October 21 Obama
The Tampa Tribune 144,510 Romney October 21 McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer 144,165 Romney October 27 McCain
The Virginian Pilot 142,476 Does not endorse candidates (5)
San Antonio Express-News 139,099 Obama October 19 McCain
The Columbus (OH) Dispatch 136,023 Romney October 21 McCain
Omaha World-Herald 135,223 Romney October 8 McCain
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) 133,557 NONE October 14 Obama
The Detroit News 133,508 Romney October 25 McCain
The Hartford Courant 132,006 Obama October 26 Obama
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) 131,872 Romney October 28 McCain
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) 130,177 Romney October 28 McCain
News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) 129,698 Obama October 28 Obama
Austin American-Statesman 125,305 NONE November 3 Obama
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) 118,978 NONE November 4 Obama
The Tennessean (Nashville) 118,589 Romney October 18 Obama
Grand Rapids Press 114,571 Romney October 24 McCain
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) 114,502 Obama November 3 Obama
The Providence (RI) Journal 114,013 Obama October 28 Obama
The Salt Lake Tribune 110,546 Obama October 20 Obama
The Palm Beach Post 110,373 NONE October 29 Obama
Richmond Times-Dispatch 108,559 Romney October 27 McCain
Boston Herald 108,548 Romney October 23 McCain
The Fresno Bee 107,501 Obama October 31 Obama
The Birmingham News 103,729 NONE November 1 McCain
The Des Moines Register 101,915 Romney October 27 Obama
The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) 100,196 Did not endorse (10) none
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 99,670 Romney October 28 Obama
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) 98,580 Romney October 26 SPLIT
Asbury Park Press 98,032 Obama October 26 Obama
Tulsa World 97,725 Romney November 4 McCain
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ) 96,682 Obama October 21 Obama
La Opinión 95,148 Obama October 23 Obama
The Blade (Toledo, OH) 94,215 Obama October 28 Obama
Daily News (Los Angeles) 94,016 Romney October 26 Obama
Dayton Daily News 93,425 Does not endorse candidates (6) Obama
Lexington (KY) Herald Leader 89,735 Obama October 28 Obama
The Akron Beacon Journal 88,040 Obama October 20 Obama
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) 87,817 Romney November 4 McCain
Northwest Indiana Times 85,692 Romney November 4 McCain
Albuquerque Journal 84,826 Romney November 4 McCain
Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT) 83,719 Does not endorse candidates
The News Journal (New Castle County, DE) 83,210 Obama November 3 Obama
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI) 83,083 Romney November 4 Obama
Press-Telegram (Los Angeles County, CA) 82,556 Romney October 26 Obama
Press-Register (Mobile, AL) 82,088 NONE November 1 McCain
Knoxville News Sentinel 81,391 No longer endorses (7) McCain
Sarasota Herald-Tribune 79,845 No longer endorses (8) Obama
Intelligencer Journal  |  Lancaster New Era 78,819 SPLIT (9) November 2 Obama
The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, VA) 78,663 NONE October 21 none
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) 78,616 "NEITHER" November 2 Obama
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) 78,453 Obama October 24 Obama

 

 


 

 

Citations

Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, "2012 General Election Editorial Endorsements by Major Newspapers."
The American Presidency Project. Ed. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California. 1999-2020.

Data compiled by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley after reviewing original editorials of the listed newspapers.

(1) On January 22, 2012, The Chicago Sun-Times announced that it would no longer endorse candidates. See: http://www.suntimes.com/opinions/10174893-474/editorial-why-we-will-no-longer-endorse-in-elections.html
(2) The Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN) does not endorse candidates. See:
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_21928764/regarding-our-editorial-minnesotas-proposed-marriage-amendment 
(3) On October 26, 2012, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel announced that it would no longer endorse candidates. See:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/why-we-wont-make-endorsements-1b7bd30-175955471.html 
(4) On October 10, 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced that it would no longer endorse candidates. See:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/opinion/to-our-readers-ajc-takes-new-approach-on-election/nQYCp/ 
(5) In October 2007, The Virginian Pilot announced that it would no longer endorse political candidates.
(6) On October 31, 2012, The Dayton Daily News announced that it would no longer endorse candidates. See:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/why-were-not-endorsing/nSspX/
(7) On October 14, 2012, The Knoxville News Sentinel announced that it would no longer endorse candidates. See:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/oct/14/jack-mcelroy-news-sentinel-ends-long-tradition/
(8) On October 26, 2012, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reiterated that it would no longer endorse candidates. See:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121026/OPINION/310269996/2198/OPINION?Title=Election-recommendations
(9) The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era has two editorial boards. The Intelligencer Journal endorsed Barack Obama and the Lancaster New Era endorsed Mitt Romney in separate editorials on November 2, 2012.
(10) As of 22:00 GMT November 5, 2012, neither the Orange County Register nor the Morning Call (Lehigh, PA) endorsed a candidate. This is consistent with each paper's decision not to endorse in 2008.

 It is standard policy that USA Today does not endorse political candidates 
• The Deseret News does not endorse as a matter of policy
• Top 100 Newspapers determined by circulation data available from BurrellesLuce at http://www.burrellesluce.com/sites/default/files/TopMedia_updatedMay2012.pdf