The Omaha World-Herald, the largest daily newspaper in Nebraska, last endorsed a Democratic candidate for president in 1932. That endorsement went to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Here are the endorsements they have made since:
1936: Alf Landon, Republican
1940: Wendell Wilkie, Republican
1944: Thomas Dewey, Republican
1948: Thomas Dewey, Republican
1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Republican
1956: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Republican
1960: Richard Nixon, Republican
1964: No endorsement
1968: Richard Nixon, Republican
1972: Richard Nixon, Republican
1976: Gerald Ford, Republican
1980: Ronald Reagan, Republican
1984: Ronald Reagan, Republican
1988: George H.W. Bush, Republican
1992: George H.W. Bush, Republican
1996: Bob Dole, Republican
2000: George W. Bush, Republican
2004: George W. Bush, Republican
2008: John McCain, Republican
2012: Mitt Romney, Republican
That was then, this is now.
84 years since the endorsement of FDR, the conservative editorial board of the World-Herald added another name to the roster:
2016: Hillary Clinton, Democrat
Another remarkable moment as a conservative paper in an always dependable Republican state recommends Clinton over Donald Trump.
“The prudent vote would go toward the least risky candidate for president. Put another way, the candidate who would have the best chance to implement changes by working with Congress, foreign and domestic leaders and military leaders under normal circumstances as well as during a crisis. That candidate is Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
The paper says Clinton’s years of service as first lady, U.S. senator from New York and Secretary of State make her “better prepared” to be Commander in Chief. About Trump, the paper says the risk of his presidency “is too great.”
“Trump shows a lack of statesmanship that is fundamental to serving in the Oval Office,” said the editorial. “A man who lashes out impulsively when attacked should not be entrusted to command the world’s most powerful military.”
The endorsement came on the same day that the wife of Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts endorsed Clinton and donated to her campaign.
The World-Herald endorsement of Clinton is not rare for conservative papers this election cycle. So far, every major paper in battleground Florida has endorsed Clinton over Trump.
The Orlando Sentinel said Clinton is “well qualified” to be president, while Trump is campaigning from a “playbook of foreign dictators, not U.S. presidents.”
The Miami Herald also endorsed Clinton, saying Trump is “the ringmaster of a circus.”
The South Florida Sun Sentinel said Clinton’s “experience already makes her less likely to make mistakes” while “Trump looks out for Trump, not the little guy.”
The Tampa Bay Times, a winner of 12 Pulitzer prizes, also endorsed Clinton calling Trump a “dangerous demagogue.”
The Salt Lake Tribune endorsed Clinton saying she was “fit and tough” while Trump is running “on a promise to fix things by basically being a dictator.”
In Alabama, the Birmingham News, the bastion of conservatism in the deep south, endorsed Clinton calling Trump “a narcissistic, childish bully.”
A Wall Street Journal editorial endorsed Clinton predicting Trump would be “the most unstable, proudly uninformed, psychologically unfit president ever to enter the White House.”
The top circulated paper in the country, USA Today, has never taken a side in a presidential race, but has called Trump “erratic, ill-equipped, prejudiced, reckless and a serial liar.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune endorsed its first Democrat ever, calling Trump “vengeful, dishonest and impulsive” while Clinton has “the experience, background and relationships with world leaders that we need in a president.”
The Arizona Republic had never endorsed a Democrat in its 126 year history but they endorsed Clinton saying, “Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president, Donald Trump does not.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer had not endorsed a Democrat in 100 years, but endorsed Clinton, slamming Trump as a “clear and present danger” to the country.
In Texas, the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle both endorsed the Democrat for the first time in decades. The Morning News blasted Trump, saying his “values are hostile to conservatism. He plays on fear, exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny, to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best.” The Chronicle wasn’t any nicer, saying Trump “is a danger to the Republic.”
Clinton has also won the endorsements of liberal newspaper editorial boards including the New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times.
Trump has been endorsed by the gossip tabloid National Enquirer.