(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Someone should do a wellness check for Vice President Kamala Harris—her hometown’s largest newspaper has refused to back her presidential candidacy just weeks before Americans head out to vote.
The Los Angeles Times editorial board announced it would not endorse Harris, breaking its religious streak of Democratic endorsements since Barack Obama’s 2008 election, Semafor reported on Tuesday.
The decision not to endorse any candidate in the 2024 election reportedly came from the newspaper’s billionaire owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. He instructed LA Times Executive Editor Terry Tang to relay the decision to the staff, Semafor wrote.
A spokesperson for the newspaper declined to comment to Semafor: “We do not comment on internal discussions or decisions about editorials or endorsements.”
WOW
The LA Times just refused to endorse Kamala for President
For context: LA Times endorsed Kamala for
Attorney General in 2014
Senate in 2016
Biden-Harris in 2020 pic.twitter.com/6XKmGr33T5— John Hasson (@SonofHas) October 22, 2024
The decision dealt a major blow to the already shaky Harris campaign. The LA Times is California’s largest newspaper and one of the most widely circulated publications nationally, according to SF Gate.
On Sept. 10, the LA Times released a series of endorsements but notably avoided endorsing any presidential candidate for 2024, referring to the election only as “the most consequential election in a generation.”
The shocking move contradicted the LA Times’s past support of Harris, including endorsements for her 2010 and 2014 attorney general races and her 2016 Senate bid.
The LA Times’s decision follows similar rejections by traditionally Democratic-aligned groups like the Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters, a point highlighted by the Trump campaign in a press statement.
“Everyone knows the Harris-Walz campaign is a sinking ship. Two more weeks until it’s submerged for good,” Trump’s team told Headline USA.
The LA Times’s snub couldn’t have come at a worse time for Harris.
On Tuesday, NBC News reported concerns from her campaign officials about potential cracks in the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
