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FLORIDA: DO NEWSPAPER ENDORSEMENTS MATTER? [Cris Rapp 11/02 05:46 PM]

This election may serve as a referendum on the question of whether (or perhaps, how much) newspaper endorsements matter. Below is a list of 16 newspapers from across Florida. A very large majority (11 of 16) endorsed Kerry over Bush, and an overwhelming majority (14) chose Democrat candidate Betty Castor over Republican Mel Martinez to fill Bob Graham’s senate seat. Given that the state is pretty much evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, Bush and Kerry, and Martinez and Castor, it is striking that most newspaper editorial boards are so solidly for the Democratic candidates. Obviously, people feel free to disagree with their local newspaper, but such uniformly pro-Democratic editorial coverage can’t have made things any easier for Bush and Martinez.

Two endorsements that may be significant are the Orlando Sentinel’s selection of Kerry, the first time the paper has backed a Democrat since LBJ in 1964, and the Tampa Tribune’s decision not to endorse any candidate after having sided with Bush in 2000.

Bush Endorsements (Senate candidate in parenthesis)

Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville): Bush (Castor)

Ocala Star-Banner: Bush (Castor)

Naples Daily News: Bush (Martinez)

The Ledger (Lakeland): Bush (Castor)

Kerry Endorsements

Miami Herald: Kerry (Castor)

(Ft. Lauderdale) Sun Sentinel: Kerry (Castor)

Palm Beach Post: Kerry (Castor)

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Kerry (Castor)

St. Petersburg Times: Kerry (Castor)

Florida Today (Melbourne): Kerry (Castor)