As Election Day approaches, the Biden-Harris campaign has received the new endorsements of 19 newspapers in a week. The newspapers are spread across a total of 14 states, and they include publications in high-profile battleground states like Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania, where Biden is in the lead in polling averages but Trump continues to show a sizable level of support. While the national popular vote margin could be sizable, the difference between candidates might be smaller in the final results in individual states. Every bit of support counts.
Besides Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania, the newspapers that have newly endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris are found across Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. Among examples of similar praise for the Democratic presidential pick, the Tampa Bay Times — a southwest Florida publication — insisted that Biden “outmatches his opponent at every turn” and referred to the former vice president as “a decent man and a leader who can help heal the country and put it back on course to meet the pressing challenges of our times.” Can anyone really credibly insist that the Trump campaign platform includes anything along the lines of “healing”? It runs on vitriol.
The Houston Chronicle is another one of the newly Biden-backing papers. Although Texas still leans towards the Republicans, a resounding Republican victory is not a certainty — as of Tuesday afternoon, Trump led in polling in the state by an average of a mere 1.4 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. That margin definitely puts Biden in a position for a potential upset win in the state.
The Houston Chronicle shared, in part:
‘Biden’s accomplishments speak for themselves: A U.S. senator by 29. An early voice for campaign finance reform and taking action on climate change. A champion for the assault weapons ban. Author of the Violence Against Women Act. Chairman of Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees. Vote for Joe Biden for president of the United States to restore our soul, our standing and our good sense.’
On the national level, Biden maintains an impressive lead. RealClearPolitics had him up by an even 10 percent in their Tuesday afternoon polling average. FiveThirtyEight had him up by 10.6 percent and gave him an 86 percent chance of victory as of that same point.