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 | |
| view 2008 editorial endorsements page | |||||
| view 2016 editorial endorsements page | |||||
| view 2020 editorial endorsements page | |||||
| 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