The Washington Post takes itself very seriously, claiming on the front page every day that “democracy dies in darkness.” On the editorial page, it declares itself “an independent newspaper.” But on Tuesday, the Post continued its favorite, decidedly non-independent, traditionEI am supporting the Democratic candidate to be Governor of Virginia for the 12th consecutive year.
The Post In 1977, The Washington Post began regularly supporting Virginia’s gubernatorial candidate. Here’s the years that The Washington Post has endorsed the Democratic candidate in the state: 1977, 1981. 1985. 1989. 1993. 1997. 2001. 2005. 2009; 2013, 2017 and 2021. In that time, what years have they endorsed a Republican in Virginia? Trick question. They haven’t. In case you are keeping score, that’s 12-0 in favor of Democrats.
On Tuesday, PostIt reiterated its support for Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, as well as Hala Ayala, Democrat (Lietenant gubernatorial Candidate) and Mark R. Herring (Democrat), gubernatorial candidates.
A 2020 op-ed I wrote for The Daily Caller about the Post’s perfect score (11-0) endorsing Democratic presidential candidates:
Here’s the box score: 11 endorsements of Democratic presidential candidates. There are no endorsements for Republican presidential candidates. 1 non-endorsement (in 1988).
The Democrats have exciting, “supple” (Barack Obama in 2008) candidates who inspire hope. Republicans on the other side are careless (John McCain, 2008), and poor about race (George H.W. Bush in 1992), to name a few of the paper’s concerns. Although some Post endorsements were less enthusiastic than others the bottom line is the same: America must elect a Democrat President.
The Post sometimes tells its readers to not be too cynical. This isn’t a choice between the lesser of two evils, they say. The paper’s 2020 endorsement of Biden cheers: “Fortunately, to oust President Trump in 2020, voters do not have to lower their standards. The Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, is exceptionally well-qualified, by character and experience, to meet the daunting challenges that the nation will face over the coming four years.”
In an effort to give McAuliffe a boost, the paper officially supported McAuliffe. On September 16, the editorial board gushed, “Democrat Terry McAuliffe makes a persuasive case as he campaigns to reclaim his former job as governor of Virginia, which does not allow consecutive terms in office.”
McAuliffe, who is now trailing in the polls in Virginia is only “moderately left of center.”
His pro-business, moderately left-of-center priorities are in step with a state that has trended Democratic for more than a decade but has remained leery of the party’s leftward tilt elsewhere. By contrast, the Republican nominee, Glenn Youngkin, a candidate making his first run for political office, has played footsie with the scurrilously antidemocratic “big lie” that election fraud propelled President Biden into office; signaled he would roll back gun-safety laws and abortion access; equivocated on same-sex marriage; and called Medicaid expansion, which provided health insurance for hundreds of thousands of Virginians, “sad.”
It’s critical that Virginians recall that Mr. McAuliffe is a dynamic chief executive with a proven track record for advancing prosperity.
The 16th of September will also be available Post cheered Herring and Ayala as “levelheaded progressives.” (Unlike their extreme GOP opponents.) In 2020, the paper’s endorsements were 6-1 Democrat. The 2013 election was an off-year.(*) Post weighed in on 27 local Virginia elections, endorsing Democrats in 20. The Washington Post
may throw around terms like “an independent newspaper” and claim its role as saving democracy. But everyone should know the truth: This paper’s main goal is to elect more Democrats. (
View a 2012 PostStorageFind out more about its history and endorsements by clicking here. There, writer Patrick B. Pexton confirms: “The Post has endorsed no Republican for governor in Virginia going back as far as 1977.”)
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