With Republicans aiming to take over the House and make gains in the Senate, the Times clearly thinks there is much at stake in today's elections. That's reflected in a beefed-up page of editorial endorsements this morning. The paper's 2010 electoral endorsements [1] not only take in the usual metropolitan areas of New York State and Connecticut (skipping New Jersey this year), but around the nation, making endorsements in eight Senate seats, nine House seats, and eight governors' offices.
So what's the partisan tally of the Times' outside endorsements? No surprise: 23 Democrats, 2 independents (former Republicans Charlie Crist for Senate in Florida and Lincoln Chafee for Rhode Island governor), and zero Republicans. Some of the Times' more prominent favorites: California Sen. Barbara Boxer and Nevada Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Compare that scatter-shot approach to Election Day 2008 [2], a presidential election year, when the Times (according to a nytimes.com search) settled for endorsing candidates for president (Who? You'll never guess), and for a few congressional races in New York State, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
On Election Day 2006 [3], a mid-term election like the one today, the paper also confined itself to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in its endorsements.
