How much is a Washington Post endorsement worth? Not a lot, apparently. The Post
endorsed [1]
26 candidates in Virginia's November 4 elections. Only 12 of them won. The
liberal newspaper's picks for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney
general, all Democrats, lost, averaging only 42.4 percent of the vote. Almost
239,000 Virginians voted [2]
against the wishes of this establishment news outlet.
The Post lobbied heavily for their gubernatorial candidate, Creigh Deeds (who
received only 41.2 percent of the vote), offering a seemingly endless [3]
number of stories about Republican Bob McDonnell and a thesis he wrote in 1989.
(McDonnell garnered 58.6 percent of the vote.) As for the Virginia House of
Democrats, the paper endorsed in 23 races and only 12 won. Adding up all the
numbers, the Post's candidates combined for 229,596 votes, compared to 238,854
against, for a 51 to 49 percent defeat.
In the State House, the Post supported just four Republicans. Three of those,
in heavily liberal districts, lost. The other one, Thomas D. Rust, has
repeatedly bucked his own party. He won.
Additionally, the newspaper picked a candidate in the Northern Virginia
suburbs, Fairfax County School Board, John J. Jennison. (He lost.) A nominee for
the Arlington County Board won. As did a bond issue that the Post supported.
The final total: 14 wins out of 29 endorsements.
-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.