Swing State Newspapers Endorse Romney

I’m straying a bit from the assignment on this one to point out an interesting trend in my home state and in New Hampshire, two swing states up for grabs this election.

I know everyone thinks Nevada leans blue, because it voted for Barack Obama in 2008, but I see a different trend. I see a state that is consistently in the highest bracket for unemployment – try being 51st out of 50 states in September 2012 (they’re counting D.C.) – and a people that despises its neighboring Californians almost as much as they love their guns. It’s a state that regularly puts out Tea Party congressional candidate, like Sharron Angle who produced ads attacking the Latino immigrant population, and the national circuit seems to think Harry Reid is still relevant to Nevadans when the reality is he gets reelected so that Nevadans are relevant to the national circuit.

How Nevada voted by county in the most recent presidential elections.

So when Barack Obama gets elected in 2008 with an endorsement from Reno Gazette-Journal, it means that the two most populous areas of the state will overshadow the rest of the born and bred red. And when that paper endorses Mitt Romney in 2012, it’s not something to ignore. Just look at the map – and recall that in 1996 Nevada went blue for Clinton and in 2004 Nevada went red for Bush. What’s the difference here? The state goes blue when a populous northwestern part of the state joins Las Vegas in going blue. Without Reno, I think Obama’s going to have a tougher time capturing those precious six votes.

Let’s look at New Hampshire, a state that also went blue for Obama in 2008. McCain swept the presidential endorsements during the Republican primary – leaving Romney largely ignored. Again in the 2012 election, the New Hampshire Union Leader – the only statewide paper – backed Newt Gingrich over Romney. But this fall, they have announced their support for him, and this may be because they are considered to be conservative-leaning. The Concord Monitor and the Nashua Telegraph both threw in their hats for Obama in 2008, but neither have announced support this election.

So what does this mean in New Hampshire? Perhaps a reluctance for either candidate, as the papers saw their primary picks ousted by Romney and are tepid about endorsing Obama when they had a decidedly Republican presidential record.

If you’re interested in taking a look at other swing state paper endorsements, here’s a link to a brief summary from ABC News.

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