Late Endorsements

Usually, at this point in the election cycle, most people have decided how they plan to vote.

But, as the Denver Post points out, Barack Obama's leads over John McCain in many so-called "battleground" states — Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Post's own Colorado — are slender indeed.

So activists on both sides have remained busy in those states. And endorsements issued there in the final days may yet make a difference.

• Few people are suggesting — even in the aftermath of Ted Stevens' conviction — that the McCain-Palin ticket won't carry Alaska.
  
  But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Anchorage Daily News did endorse the Democratic ticket. Of course, it also endorsed John Kerry in 2004, but the state's voters supported George W. Bush.
  
  Now, the Juneau Empire has weighed in — with its endorsement of McCain.


• Likewise, I don't think anyone is seriously contemplating the possibility that McCain's home state of Arizona will not vote for its senator.
  
  But Tucson's Arizona Daily Star endorsed Obama. It also endorsed Kerry four years ago.


• Even though one of Connecticut's senators, Joe Lieberman, has been an outspoken supporter of McCain, the state seems likely to support Obama on Tuesday.
  
  But the Stamford Advocate is resisting the Democratic tide. It endorsed Kerry in 2004, but it supports McCain in this election.


• Illinois, of course, is the state Obama represents in the Senate. Many of the state's newspapers have endorsed his candidacy, and I'm not aware of anyone who has said Obama will fail to carry the state on Tuesday.
  
  In the past, a rhetorical political question has centered around whether a candidate or issue would "play in Peoria." Today, the question of how the presidential campaign is playing in Peoria received a partial answer. The Peoria Journal Star, which supported Bush in 2004, endorsed Obama's candidacy.
  
  We'll find out on Tuesday how the choice is playing with Peoria's voters.


• Minnesota appears poised to vote for Obama, but the Duluth News Tribune, after endorsing Kerry four years ago, endorsed McCain, saying "[d]uring these difficult days, our nation can’t risk an unproven hopeful in the White House."


• Some political observers think North Carolina is in play, but I find that hard to believe. It may be close in North Carolina — it frequently is — but I think it will be in the Republican column when all the votes are counted.
  
  The Winston-Salem Journal endorsed McCain. It endorsed no one four years ago.


• In Oklahoma, where Republican nominees have prevailed for 40 years, the Tulsa World added its name to the growing list of newspapers in Oklahoma that support McCain.


• Massachusetts is another state in which the outcome is probably a foregone conclusion.
  
  Massachusetts seldom votes for Republicans, and most of its newspapers have endorsed the Democrats, but the Springfield Republican switched sides. After supporting Massachusetts' favorite son, Democratic Sen. John Kerry, last time, the Republican is living up to its name and supporting McCain this time.


• Earlier in the campaign, I heard talk from some people that a "surge" of black votes in Mississippi would carry the day for Obama in that state. Such talk appears to have died out as reality has settled in for most of those people.
  
  Nevertheless, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger has endorsed Obama, which is, I suppose, a victory for Obama. The Clarion-Ledger endorsed Bush in 2004.

But, as I say, voters in these states appear to have made up their minds. So let's take a look at the battlegrounds.

• In Ohio, a newspaper that was once run by a future Republican president (Warren Harding), the Marion Star, has endorsed the Republican in this race.


• In Pennsylvania, where McCain has been campaigning feverishly in an attempt to flip the state and win its electoral votes, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has given its blessing to McCain.
  
  Obama, meanwhile, has received a recent endorsement from the Lebanon Daily News.

For the most part, endorsement activity seems to be tailing off. Almost all of the large newspapers have chosen sides, and most newspapers in the battleground states seem to have done so as well.

More endorsements may come on Election Eve, but it appears that it's up to the voters now.