Does Anyone Care Who the Des Moines Register Backs?

“The Des Moines Register has been endorsing candidates ahead of Iowa’s presidential caucuses since 1988, but when it announces its latest picks Saturday evening, it’ll be doing so in an upside-down political atmosphere in which once-vaunted traditions have become unwelcome reminders of insiderdom,” Politico reports.

“The two Republican candidates likeliest to win the caucuses — Donald Trump and Ted Cruz — didn’t even bother to court the paper’s endorsement. And it’s unclear if they’d want it anyway. Republican strategists and political observers predicted that unlike in previous years, a Register endorsement could become an instant talking point for rivals, proof that the honoree is aligned with a mainstream media outlet’s moderate-to-liberal lean.”