Obama takes Michigan, national newspaper endorsement derby

In not much of a surprise, John McCain picked up the endorsement from Michigan’s conservative-leaning Detroit News last Thursday and the Grand Rapids Press yesterday. But nationwide, the Obama-Biden ticket maintains a strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 177 to 69, nearly a 3-1 margin, and with an even wider spread in terms of those paper’s circulations.

At least 35 papers have now switched to Obama from Bush in 2004, with four flipping to McCain.

From the Detroit News:

“During these perilous times, the nation needs an experienced, proven leader in the White House. Sen. John McCain is best equipped for the job.

The Republican presidential candidate has the character, pragmatism and independence necessary to lead a united America past our poisonous partisan divisions and into a more civil and productive future.

Seemingly a snub to the Arizona senator, the Ann Arbor News — which had endorsed George W. Bush in 2004 — announced its decision not to endorse a presidential candidate this year.

From the Ann Arbor News:

“When this newspaper decides not to endorse a candidate in an election, it’s usually because we believe neither is qualified for the office.

In this year’s presidential race, that’s not the case. Both Barack Obama, a Democrat, and John McCain, a Republican, are qualified to be president.

Yet when we look at this pair, we see two seriously flawed candidates who have run very disappointing campaigns. And although it’s possible that either man will turn out to make an excellent president, we find ourselves unable to work up sufficient enthusiasm to endorse either one.”

The Detroit Free Press endorsement of Barack Obama last week also wasn’t a shocker, as even it states in its endorsement that its pick was predictable. Here’s a snippet from that endorsement:

“Despite his relatively short time in public office, Obama, 47, has over the course of the general election campaign steadily articulated a progressive, pragmatic vision for this country, keyed to opportunities for the middle class, and demonstrated time and again that his approach to things is grounded in deliberation and reflection. He’s a man clearly open to ideas and willing to search for the right answer to a problem rather than pursuing the expedient one.

His mantra of “change” is rooted in a well-grounded perspective on governing and leadership.

These qualities will serve well a country that’s hungry for a unified, hopeful vision.”

Obama has also picked up the endorsements of the Detroit-based Michigan Chronicle,The Muskegon Chronicle, the Bay City Times, Lansing State Journal, Livingston Daily, Battle Creek Enquirer and the Saginaw News.

Outside Michigan, Obama was also endorsed on Thursday by the Philadelphia Daily News and the New York Times, which are still no surprise from the Democratic-leaning papers. However, the Times offers a particularly glowing endorsement:

“Mr. Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change. He has shown a cool head and sound judgment. We believe he has the will and the ability to forge the broad political consensus that is essential to finding solutions to this nation’s problems.”

According to the Times’ interactive timeline, the daily hasn’t supported a Republican since 1956 when it endorsed Dwight D. Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson.

History was also made in Hartford, Conn., and in Chicago. The Hartford Courant endorsement of Obama was announced over the weekend — only the second time in the paper’s 244-year history that it has endorsed a Democratic candidate for president, while the Chicago Tribune’s endorsement of Obama was the first time for that paper to endorse a Democrat for president. The McCain campaign said this was expected in a hometown newspaper.

In McCain’s home state, the Republican-leaning Arizona Republic endorsed McCain over the weekend, ending much speculation over which candidate that paper might favor.

Below is my tally of state-by-state newspaper endorsements. A “(B)” denotes that the paper voted for Bush in 2004, “(K)” denotes that it voted for Kerry in 2004, “(N)” signifies “no endorsement” in 2004, and the numbers that follow are the paper’s circulation if available.

BARACK OBAMA
177 daily newspapers total
More than 16,172,397 daily circulation total

ALABAMA
The Florence Times Daily (B)
Tuscaloosa News (K): 32,768

ALASKA
Anchorage Daily News (B)

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Times (K)

CALIFORNIA
The Argus (Fremont) (K): 26,749
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek) (K): 183,086
Daily Breeze (Torrance) (B): 66,599
Daily News (Los Angeles) (K): 137,344
Daily Review (Hayward) (K): 30,704
The Fresno Bee (K): 150,334
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario) (B): 53,903
La Opinion (Los Angeles) (K): 114,892
Long Beach Press Telegram (B): 85,595
Los Angeles Times (N): 773,884
Marin Independent-Journal (K): 31,909
Merced Sun Star (K): 15,015
The Modesto Bee (K): 78,001
The Monterey County Herald (K): 28,933
Oakland Tribune (K): 96,535
Pasadena Star-News (B): 27,894
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (B): 40,051
San Mateo Daily Journal: 14,800
The (Stockton) Record (B): 57,486
The Sacramento Bee (K): 288,755
San Bernardino Sun (B): 54,315
San Francisco Chronicle (K): 370,345
San Jose Mercury News (K): 234,772
San Mateo County Times (K): 25,982
Santa Cruz Sentinel (K): 23,290
Tri-Valley Herald (B): 29,759

COLORADO
Aspen Daily News (K): 12,500
The Aurora Sentinel (K): 46,000
Boulder Camera (K): 28,994
Cortez Journal (K): 6,700
The Denver Post (B): 225,193
The Durango Herald (K): 8,870
Gunnison Country Times (N): 4,000
Ouray County Plaindealer (K): 3,000
Vail Daily: 10,525

CONNECTICUT
The Day in New London
Hartford Courant
New Haven Register (B): 72,613
Norwich Bulletin

DELAWARE
The News Journal (Wilmington) (K): 110,171

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Post (K): 673,180

FLORIDA
Daytona Beach News-Journal (K): 99,627
Lakeland Ledger (B)
Miami Herald (K): 240,223
Naples Daily News (B): 66,272
Orlando Sentinel (K): 227,593
The Palm Beach Post (K): 164,474
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (K): 114,904
St. Petersburg Times (K)

GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (K): 326,907

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (B)

HAWAII
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (K): 64,305

IDAHO
Idaho Statesman (K): 61,927

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 541,663
Chicago Sun-Times (K): 312,274
Daily Herald (Arlington) (K): 143,152
Lake County News-Sun (Waukegan) (B): 16,899
Rockford Register Star (K): 55,913
Southwest News-Herald (K): 9,300

INDIANA
The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) (K): 64,304
Palladium-Item (Richmond) (B): 15,453

IOWA
Des Moines Register (K)
The Hawk Eye (Burlington) (K): 18,921
Mason City Globe Gazette (B): 17,666
Quad-City Times
The Storm Lake Times (K): 3,200

KENTUCKY
The Ledger Independent (Maysville)
Lexington Herald-Leader (K):109,624
Louisville Courier-Journal (K)

LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune (N)

MARYLAND
Baltimore Sun (K)

MAINE
Bangor Daily News (K): 55,627
Brunswick Times-Record (K): 9,317

MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (K): 350,605
Berkshire Eagle
North Adams Transcript: 5,949
The Standard-Times (New Bedford) (K): 30,306

MICHIGAN
Battle Creek Enquirer
Bay City Times
Lansing State Journal (K) 65,886
Livingston Daily
Detroit Free Press (K): 308,944
Michigan Chronicle (Detroit) (N): 31,872
The Muskegon Chronicle (K): 41,114
Saginaw News 50,000

MINNESOTA
The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (K)
St. Cloud Times (K): 25,868

MISSOURI
Columbia Daily Tribune (K): 18,131
The Kansas City Star (K): 252,785
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (K): 255,057

MONTANA
Billings Gazette 47,105

NEVADA
Las Vegas Sun (K): 174,341

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor (K): 19,885
Nashua Telegraph (K): 24,272

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press (Neptune) (B): 140,882
Bergen Record

NEW MEXICO
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 21,341
Santa Fe New Mexican (K): 25,249

NEW YORK
Albany Times-Union
Buffalo News (K): 178,365
Daily News (B): 703,137
The Daily Star (Oneonta) (K): 14,391
el Diario (K): 53,856
Glens Falls Post-Star
The New York Times (K) 1,048,109
Poughkeepsie Journal (B)
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Syracuse Post-Standard

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville Citizen-Times (K): 50,160
Charlotte Observer (K) 215,379
The Daily Reflector (Greenville) (K): 21,703
Durham Herald-Sun (N): 32,845
News & Observer (Raleigh) (K): 176,083
Wilmington Star-News (K): 47,620

OHIO
Akron Beacon-Journal (K): 119,929
The Blade (Toledo) (K): 119,901
Dayton Daily News (K): 116,690
Hamilton Journal-News (B): 19,432
Middletown Journal: 17,285
The Repository (Canton) (B): 65,789
The Times-Reporter (New Philadelphia) (B): 22,428
Springfield News-Sun (K): 24,684
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) (N): 330,280

OKLAHOMA
Muskogee Phoenix (K)

OREGON
Corvallis Gazette-Times: 12,092
The Daily Astorian (Astoria) (K): 8,263
Mail Tribune (Medford) (K): 30,349
The Oregonian (Portland) (K): 304,399
Register-Guard (Eugene) (K): 67,400
Statesman-Journal (Salem) (K): 47,152
Yamhill Valley News-Register (McMinnville) (B): 10,921

PENNSYLVANIA
The Daily Item (Sunbury) (N): 24,879
Erie Times (B)
The Express-Times (Easton) (B): 44,561
Harrisburg Patriot-News
Philadelphia Daily News (K)
Philadelphia Inquirer (K): 334,150
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (K): 214,374
York Daily Record (B)

RHODE ISLAND
Providence Journal (B) 149,094

TENNESSEE
Chattanooga Times (K): 71,716
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (K): 146,961
The (Nashville) Tennessean (K): 161,131

TEXAS
Austin American-Statesman (B): 170,309
The Eagle (Bryan-College Station): 21,654
Fort Worth Star Telegram (B)
Houston Chronicle (B): 494,131
Longview News-Journal (K): 27,590
The Lufkin Daily News (K): 12,225

UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune (B): 121,699

VERMONT
Bennington Daily
Burlington Free Press (K): 41,901
Brattleboro Daily
Randolph Daily

VIRGINIA
Falls Church News-Press (K): 30,500

WASHINGTON
The Columbian (B): 44,623
The News Tribune (Tacoma) (K): 111,778
The Olympian (Olympia) (K): 30,755
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (K): 129,563
The Seattle Times (K): 220,883
Tri-City Herald (K): 40,830
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (K): 13,624
Yakima Herald-Republic (B): 38,077

WEST VIRGINIA
The Charleston Gazette (K): 48,061
Huntington Herald-Dispatch (K): 27,463

WISCONSIN
The Capital Times (Madison) (K): 16,335
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Stevens Point Journal
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (B): 87,930

JOHN McCAIN
69 daily newspapers total
More than 4,139,700 daily circulation total

ARIZONA
Arizona Republic (B)

CALIFORNIA
Bakersfield Californian (B) 59,433
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Ca.)
Napa Valley Register (B): 16,283
Riverside Press-Enterprise (B): 164,189
The San Francisco Examiner (B): 80,000
San Diego Union-Tribune (B): 288,669

COLORADO
Mountain Valley News (Cedaredge): 2,000
The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction) (B): 31,349
Daily Times-Call (Longmont) (B): 21,127
The Pueblo Chieftain (B): 49,169

CONNECTICUT
The Register Citizen (Torrington) (B): 8,217

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington DC Examiner (N): 100,073

FLORIDA
Bradenton Herald (K): 48,618
Cape Coral Daily Breeze: 2,015
Palatka Daily News: 11,000
Tampa Tribune: (N)220,522

IOWA
The Messenger (Fort Dodge) (B): 16,355

MARYLAND
The Baltimore Examiner (N): 50,000

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 182,350
The (Lowell) Sun (B): 44,439
The Eagle-Tribune

MICHIGAN
The Detroit News: 188,171
Grand Rapids Press

MINNESOTA
The Journal (New Ulm) (B): 7,920

NEBRASKA
The Lincoln Journal-Star
McCook Daily Gazette: 5,903

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Foster’s Daily Democrat (B): 22,547
Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 51,782

NEW MEXICO
Roswell Daily Record: 11,700

NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 174,341

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Claremont Eagle Times

NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 702,488

NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo Forum (B): 48,303

OHIO
The Cincinnati Enquirer (B)
Columbus Dispatch (B): 199,524
The (Findlay) Courier (B): 22,319

OKLAHOMA
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: 18,400
The Oklahoman

OREGON
Bend Bulletin (B): 32,455

PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster New Era
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (K)
Philadelphia Inquirer (K)
Public Opinion (Chambersburg) (N): 16,679
The Sentinel (Lewistown) (B): 11,863

SOUTH CAROLINA
The State (Columbia) (B)

TENNESSEE
The Chattanooga Free Press (B): 71,716
The Jackson Sun (K): 32,121
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville) (B): 20,354

TEXAS
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 44,764
Beaumont Enterprise (B): 45,684
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (K): 53,368
Dallas Morning News (B): 368,313
Galveston Daily News
Kerrville Daily Times: 8,971
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (B): 49,094
San Antonio Express-News (B): 225,447
Times Record News (Wichita Falls) (N): 28,888
Tyler Morning Telegraph: 35,598

VIRGINIA
Bristol Herald
The Daily News Record (Harrisonburg): 30,908
Daily Press (Newport News) (K): 91,508
Lynchburg News & Advance
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Waynesboro News-Virginian
The Winchester Star (B): 20,218

WASHINGTON
Centralia (Wash.) Chronicle
(Spokane) Spokesman-Review (B): 89,779

WEST VIRGINIA
Parkersburg Daily
Wheeling News-Register (B): 12,821
Weirton Daily

WEEKLIES / COLLEGE

BARACK OBAMA
Arkansas Times (Little Rock)
The Bowdoin Orient (Bowdoin College)
The Chronicle (Duke University)
Cincinnati CityBeat (Ohio)
City Newspaper (Rochester, NY)
EPG News
Hoy
Hunterdon Review (Clinton, NJ)
Independent Weekly (North Carolina)
Metro Santa Cruz (California)
Minnesota Daily
New York Observer (New York)
News-Register (McMinnville, OR)
The Pacific Northwest Inlander (Spokane, WA)
San Diego CityBeat (California)
Santa Barbara Independent (California)
Santa Monica Mirror (California)
The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg)
Windsor Beacon (Colorado)

JOHN McCAIN
The Garden City News (New York)
Lampasas Dispatch Record (Texas)
River Falls Journal (Wisconsin)
Wharton Journal-Spectator (Texas)

CHOOSING NOT TO ENDORSE
Abilene Reporter-News
Ann Arbor News (B)
Colorado Springs Gazette
Fort Meyers News-Press (Florida)
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star (B) (Virginia)
Indianapolis Star (B)
Mountain Home News (Idaho)
Springfield News-Leader
The Record Searchlight (California)
Waco Tribune Herald (Texas)

A similar list is compiled by the trade magazine Editor & Publisher.