Inky Recommendations (2012)

WA-List is non-partisan and makes no endorsements. We do, however, see politics as part of the life and culture of the state. It has steered our history. It will map our future.

Today we survey the published choices of seven newspapers from across the state.  The papers —  four from western Washington, three from eastern Washington — were chosen as bellwethers of the regions they represent. And we focused on the federal and the statewide races (candidates and issues) to keep the list manageable.  We’ll leave the many legislative, judicial, and local races to you and the sources you trust.

Newspapers take endorsements seriously.  So while the list below is intended as a summary of each paper’s choices, we know those choices have informed, reasoned arguments behind them.  We can’t reprint their full text opinions here, but we encourage you to go to the sources and read their endorsement editorials in full. Click the name of each newspaper in the table’s header row to visit their opinion/endorsement pages.  You may disagree with their recommendations (as surely as they disagree with each other), but you might enjoy reading their perspectives.  Your vote is ultimately your decision.

PLEASE NOTE that not all spaces are filled in yet because candidate evaluations are still in progress.  We began this list with 34 endorsements on Oct 8, 2012, and will update this page (until Election Day, Nov 6) as additional endorsements are published until Election Day, Nov 6.  The official state voter’s pamphlet is available from the Secretary of State’s election website.

ENDORSEMENTS FROM 7 NEWSPAPERS AROUND WASHINGTON STATE, 2012

NOTE on colors: Blue space = Candidate preferring the Democrat party.  Red space = Candidate preferring the Republican party.  Pale yellow space =Approve/Yes.  Gray space =Reject/No.

SOURCE: The editorial pages of the Columbian, Everett Herald, Tri-City Herald, The News Tribune, Spokesman-Review, Seattle Times, and Wenatchee World.

October 8th, 2012