Dallas newspaper breaks from tradition, endorses Democrat Clinton
Published 2:00 pm Thursday, September 8, 2016
- FILE: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a January town hall meeting at Woodbury School in Salem, New Hampshire.
AUSTIN – The editorial page of the Dallas Morning News – a beacon of conservatism in presidential politics in a deep-red state – turned a hue of purple this week by endorsing a Democrat for the White House.
The newspaper, which called Hillary Clinton the only “serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November,” noted it was breaking from a record of endorsing Republicans that has stood for more than 75 years – since before World War II.
The Morning News acknowledged Clinton’s “real shortcomings” but said they aren’t matched by those of her opponent, Republican Donald Trump.
“Clinton has made mistakes and displayed bad judgment, but her errors are plainly in a different universe than her opponent’s,” the editorial said.
Wednesday’s endorsement of Clinton came a day after a Morning News editorial that made the case against Trump, saying he is not a Republican, not a true conservative and unqualified to be president.
Political observers said the editorials weren’t just a surprise but a signal.
“The reason it has happened is, Donald Trump is not a credible candidate,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
The endorsement was measured, listing what the Morning News described as Clinton’s political “warts.”
That weak support seems in line with popular opinion. Earlier this week, a Washington Post SurveyMonkey poll showed Clinton slightly ahead of Trump among likely Texas voters.
Not all parts of the state are red, of course. Allan Saxe, a political science professor at the University of Texas, noted that Dallas County voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, a political science professor at the University of North Texas, said the Morning News could have chosen not to take a position.
But its editorial board clearly decided that wasn’t an acceptable choice in this unusual presidential contest.
“They can’t support a flawed candidate,” he said, “and they don’t want others to.”
John Austin covers the Texas Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jaustin@cnhi.com.
