Daily Endorsement Tally: John Kerry Says Cheese

By: Greg Mitchell Sen. John Kerry widened his lead in our daily endorsement tally today, picking up 13 new papers, including three key ones in the surprising battleground of Wisconsin: the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Green Bay News-Chronicle, and The Capital Times in Madison. President Bush added three today, and he now trails his challenger, 162 endorsements to 129.

Kerry also picked up one more switch from Bush in 2000: the Courier-Post of Camden, N.J. He has now nabbed 38 papers in that category; Bush has picked up only six flip-flops, papers that went for Al Gore four years ago.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel backed no one in 2000 and as recently as two weeks ago a top editor told us that this was likely to be the outcome again. But today they went for Kerry.

In the circulation fight, Kerry leads by 18.4 million to 11.8 million in numbers for supporting papers.

In picking up the Springfield News-Leader, Kerry accomplished a sweep of the leading papers in Missouri, a state that had slid into the Bush column by most estimates a couple weeks ago but now, according to some pundits, is back in play.

He also picked up the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, giving him both papers in that city, at a time when as experts suggest that Hawaii is not only now up for grabs but could decide the election -- when the state's results are finally announced sometime after polls close there at 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Kerry also picked up The Gainesville Sun, continuing his near-sweep of papers in crucial Florida.

In response to reader requests, here is the list of papers we know of that backed Bush in 2000 but now have declared their neutrality: The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio; The Detroit (Mich.) News; The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, La.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal; The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune; Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News; Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News; The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.); and The Scranton (Pa.) Times.

Today's additions to our overall tally follow. Thanks again to Teresa LaLoggia.

For Kerry: Springfield News-Leader in Missouri; The (Elizabeth City) Daily Advance in North Carolina; The Bucks County Courier Times, The Doylestown Intelligencer, and Beaver County Times in Pennsylvania; The Green Bay News-Chronicle, The Capital Times (Madison), and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in Wisconsin; Courier-Post (Camden) in New Jersey; The (Oneonta) Daily Star in New York; Honolulu Star-Bulletin in Hawaii; Times Recorder (Zanesville) in Ohio; and The Gainesville Sun in Florida.

For Bush: The (Adrian) Daily Telegram in Michigan; The (Lafayette) Advertiser in Louisiana; and The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee.

Here is our updated chart, state by state, including each paper's most recent ABC daily circulation total and an indication of who the paper backed in 2000, Bush or Gore (if we know it). Note: We are not including weeklies or college papers.

JOHN KERRY
162 newspapers total
18,395,692 daily circulation

ALABAMA
The Tuscaloosa News: 34,616
The Anniston Star (G): 26,527
The Decatur Daily (G): 23,641

ARIZONA
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (G): 109,592

CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle (G): 501,135
The Sacramento Bee (G): 303,841
San Jose Mercury News (G): 279,539
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek) (B): 186,335
Daily News (Los Angeles) (B): 178,044
The Fresno Bee (G): 166,531
La Opinion (Los Angeles) (G): 126,628
Ventura County Star (B): 93,664
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa) (G): 89,384
The Modesto Bee (G): 87,366
The Oakland Tribune (G): 67,807
The Monterey County Herald (B): 34,813
Santa Cruz Sentinel (B): 26,136
Merced Sun-Star: 17,247

COLORADO
Daily Camera (Boulder) (B): 33,419
Fort Collins Coloradoan (G): 28,415
Durango Herald (G): 8,621

CONNECTICUT
The Day (New London) (B): 39,553
The Stamford Advocate (B): 27,350

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Post (G): 772,553

FLORIDA
St. Petersburg Times (G): 358,502
The Miami Herald (G): 325,032
Orlando Sentinel (B): 269,269
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) (G): 268,927
The Palm Beach Post (G): 181,727
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (G): 121,272
Daytona Beach News-Journal (G): 112,945
Florida Today (Melbourne) (G): 90,877
Bradenton Herald (B): 52,163
The Gainesville Sun: 48,747

GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 418,323
The Macon Telegraph: 65,871

HAWAII
The Honolulu Advertiser (G): 145,943
Honolulu Star-Bulletin (G): 64,305

IDAHO
The Idaho Statesman (Boise) (B): 65,714

ILLINOIS
Chicago Sun-Times (B): 486,936
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) (B): 150,794
Rockford Register-Star (B): 65,685
Daily Southtown (Chicago) (G): 48,858
Edwardsville Intelligencer (B): 5,092

INDIANA
The Times (Munster): 86,474
The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) (G): 61,205

IOWA
The Des Moines Register (G): 155,898
Quad City Times (Davenport) (B): 53,872
The Hawk Eye (Burlington) (G): 19,000
Iowa City Press-Citizen (B): 15,077

KANSAS
The Hutchinson News (G): 32,625

KENTUCKY
The Courier-Journal (Louisville) (G): 216,934
Lexington Herald-Leader (G): 122,748
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer: 28,445

LOUISIANA
The Times (Shreveport) (G): 66,614

MAINE
Portland Press Herald (G): 73,211
Bangor Daily News (B): 61,337
Morning Sentinel (Waterville): 19,639
Kennebec Journal (Augusta): 14,845

MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (G): 452,109
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) (B): 103,586
The Republican (Springfield): 84,694
The Standard-Times (New Bedford): 35,299

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press (G): 354,581
The Flint Journal (B): 84,313
Lansing State Journal (G): 73,594
The Muskegon Chronicle (B): 46,505
The Bay City Times: 34,126
Times Herald (Port Huron): 29,488
Traverse City Record-Eagle: 26,502
Battle Creek Enquirer: 24,831
Livingston County Daily Press & Argus: 13,472
The Argus-Press (Owosso): 11,438

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (G): 377,058
Duluth News Tribune: 45,688
The Free Press (Mankato): 21,591

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (G): 281,198
The Kansas City Star (G): 269,188
Springfield News-Leader (G): 62,158
Columbia Daily Tribune (B): 18,874

MONTANA
Billings Gazette (B): 47,849

NEVADA
Reno Gazette-Journal (G): 66,073
Las Vegas Sun (G): 34,407
Nevada Appeal (Carson City): 15,296

NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Telegraph (Nashua): 26,762
Concord Monitor (G): 19,984
Valley News (Lebanon-Hanover): 16,984
The Keene Sentinel (G): 13,620
Portsmouth Herald (G): 13,551

NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger (Newark) (G): 407,945
The Record (Hackensack) (G): 171,251
Courier-Post (Camden) (B): 79,400
The Times (Trenton) (G): 73,235
Daily Record (Parsippany): 42,665
The Gloucester County Times (Woodbury): 23,827

NEW MEXICO
The Santa Fe New Mexican (G): 25,308
The Albuquerque Tribune (B): 13,536

NEW YORK
The New York Times (G): 1,133,763
Newsday (Melville) (G): 580,346
The Buffalo News (G): 201,900
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (G): 169,697
The Journal-News (White Plains) (B): 142,145
The Post-Star (Glens Falls): 33,608
Star-Gazette (Elmira) (B): 28,826
The Daily Star (Oneonta) (G): 17,962

NORTH CAROLINA
The Charlotte Observer (G): 231,369
The News & Observer (Raleigh) (G): 173,329
Asheville Citizen Times: 55,982
The Daily Reflector (Greenville): 25,777
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City): 10,514

NORTH DAKOTA
Grand Forks Herald (G): 32,385
The Bismarck Tribune: 27,111

OHIO
Dayton Daily News (G): 183,175
The Blade (Toledo) (G): 139,293
Akron Beacon Journal (G): 139,220
Times Recorder (Zanesville): 21,329

OREGON
The Oregonian (Portland) (B): 342,040
The Register-Guard (Eugene) (G): 72,411
Statesman Journal (Salem): 56,298
Mail Tribune (Medford): 35,524
The World (Coos Bay): 12,711
East Oregonian (Pendleton): 10,236
The Daily Astorian (Astoria): 8,429

PENNSYLVANIA
The Philadelphia Inquirer (G): 387,692
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (G): 245,065
The Philadelphia Daily News (G): 139,983
The Morning Call (Allentown) (B): 131,110
The Bucks County Courier Times (G): 67,722
Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre): 44,639
The Doylestown Intelligencer: 43,053
Beaver County Times (G): 41,950
The Citizens' Voice (G): 33,343
Herald-Standard (Uniontown) (B): 28,453
Centre Daily Times (State College): 25,354

TENNESSEE
The Tennessean (Nashville) (G): 205,158
The Commercial-Appeal (Memphis) (B): 189,961
The Jackson Sun (G): 35,561

TEXAS
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (B): 60,537
Waco Tribune-Herald: 40,699
Longview News-Journal: 29,509
The Lufkin Daily News: 14,608
The Baytown Sun: 11,374

VERMONT
The Burlington Free Press: 47,278
Rutland Herald (G): 21,125

VIRGINIA
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) (G): 201,473
The Roanoke Times: 100,447
Daily Press (Newport News): 95,228

WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times (B): 237,303
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (G): 150,901
The News Tribune (Tacoma) (G): 128,748
The Herald (Everett) (G): 50,998
Tri-City Herald (Kennewick) (B): 42,285
The Olympian (Olympia) (G): 34,482
The Sun (Bremerton) (B): 30,731
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (B): 14,275

WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Gazette (G): 49,529

WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 244,893
The Journal Times (Racine) (G): 29,264
Kenosha News: 26,665
The Wausau Daily Herald (B): 22,757
The Capital Times (Madison) (G): 19,410
The Green Bay News-Chronicle: 7,100



GEORGE W. BUSH
129 newspapers total
11,781,383 daily circulation

ALABAMA
Birmingham News (B): 153,195
Mobile Register (B): 100,244

ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (B): 466,926

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock) (B): 187,601
Southwest Times Record (Fort Smith) (B): 37,636

CALIFORNIA
The San Diego Union-Tribune (B): 361,317
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside) (B): 191,802
Press-Telegram (Long Beach) (B): 96,466
San Bernardino Sun: 73,323
The Bakersfield Californian (B): 71,495
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (B): 65,202
The Record (Stockton) (B): 62,139
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs) (B): 58,527
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (B): 48,920
Pasadena Star-News (B): 35,181
The Reporter (Vacaville) (B): 18,227
Whittier Daily News: 17,330

COLORADO
The Denver Post (G): 286,197
Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (B): 286,004
The Pueblo Chieftain: 52,208
Daily Times-Call (Longmont): 21,465
Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald: 17,548
Daily Record (Canon City): 8,164

CONNECTICUT
The Hartford Courant (B): 187,394
New Haven Register (B): 92,022
Connecticut Post (Bridgeport) (B): 76,133
The Register Citizen (Torrington): 8,245

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Times (B): 100,228

FLORIDA
The Ledger (Lakeland) (B): 75,539
Ocala Star-Banner: 51,489

GEORGIA
Augusta Chronicle (B): 71,724
Savannah Morning News (B): 57,288

IDAHO
The Times-News (Twin Falls) (B): 23,012

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 578,843
Springfield State Journal-Register (B): 57,212
The Pantagraph (Bloomington) (B): 47,931
The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana): 39,190
Herald & Review (Decatur) (B): 35,233
Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale): 28,173
The Journal-Standard (Freeport): 13,693

INDIANA
The Indianapolis Star (B): 253,778
Evansville Courier & Press: 69,003

IOWA
The Gazette (Cedar Rapids) (B): 63,578
Sioux City Journal: 41,929
Globe-Gazette (Mason City): 18,947

KANSAS
The Wichita Eagle: 90,835

KENTUCKY
Daily News (Bowling Green) (B): 21,555
The Ledger Independent (Maysville): 8,755

LOUISIANA
The Advertiser (Lafayette) (B): 46,361
The Town Talk (Alexandria): 36,321

MARYLAND
Easton Star Democrat: 16,667

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 248,988
The Sun (Lowell) (B): 50,369
Sentinel & Enterprise: 17,310

MICHIGAN
The Grand Rapids Press (B): 139,216
The Oakland Press (Pontiac): 65,484
The Macomb Daily (Mount Clemens) (G): 43,584
The Herald Palladium (St. Joseph): 23,423
Midland Daily News: 16,076
The Daily Telegram (Adrian): 15,374

MISSOURI
Hannibal Courier-Post: 8,592

NEBRASKA
Omaha World-Herald (B): 197,627
Lincoln Journal Star (B): 75,679

NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 170,061
Elko Daily Free Press: 7,386

NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 59,605
Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover): 22,995

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press (Neptune) (B): 161,937

NEW MEXICO
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 22,168
Farmington Daily Times (B): 18,144
Carlsbad Current-Argus (B): 8,030

NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 678,012
The New York Sun: 53,688

NORTH CAROLINA
The Enterprise-Record (Mocksville): 11,800

NORTH DAKOTA
The Forum (Fargo) (B): 52,238

OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch (B): 371,551
The Cincinnati Enquirer (B): 216,509
The Repository (Canton) (B): 66,014
The News-Herald (Lake County-Willoughby): 45,366
The Cincinnati Post (B): 40,618
News Journal (Mansfield): 32,641
The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia): 23,956
The Courier (Findlay) (B): 22,319
The Advocate (Newark): 22,217
Chillicothe Gazette: 16,018
The Independent (Massillon): 12,932

OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (B): 223,403
Tulsa World (B): 139,383

OREGON
The Bulletin (Bend) (B): 26,695
The News-Review (Roseburg): 19,272
Albany Democrat-Herald (B): 17,786
Daily Courier (Grants Pass): 16,392
Argus Observer (Ontario): 7,367

PENNSYLVANIA
Erie Times-News (B): 60,771
The Express-Times (Easton): 50,439
York Daily Record (G): 46,554
Altoona Mirror (B): 32,339
The Sentinel (Carlisle): 15,072

SOUTH CAROLINA
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg) (G): 50,386

SOUTH DAKOTA
Argus Leader (Sioux Falls) (G): 54,700

TENNESSEE
The Knoxville News-Sentinel (B): 117,528
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville): 22,057

TEXAS
Houston Chronicle (B): 549,300
The Dallas Morning News (B): 546,177
San Antonio Express-News (B): 252,889
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (B): 247,167
Austin American-Statesman (B): 184,907
El Paso Times: 74,278
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 51,105
The Victoria Advocate: 36,340

UTAH
The Salt Lake Tribune: 135,730

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch (B): 191,732
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg) (B): 47,866
News Advance (Lynchburg): 37,447
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg): 32,202
Danville Register & Bee: 21,701

WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane) (B): 100,760
The Columbian (Vancouver) (B): 51,498
King County Journal (Bellevue): 44,592
The Daily News (Longview): 22,138
The Chronicle (Centralia): 14,524

WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Daily Mail (B): 34,539
The Parkersburg News: 23,558
The Intelligencer (Wheeling): 20,689
Bluefield Daily Telegraph: 19,877

WISCONSIN
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison) (B): 91,356
The Post-Crescent (Appleton) (G): 54,193
Oshkosh Northwestern (B): 21,748
The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls) (B): 6,804