A historically Democratic newspaper has refused to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
The Los Angeles Times, which has exclusively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates since then-Senator Barack Obama ran in 2008, decided not to endorse either Harris or former President Donald Trump. according to Semafor.
Two people familiar with the discussions said executive editor Terry Tang told the LA Times editorial board staff earlier this month that the newspaper would not endorse any presidential candidate.
He reportedly said the decision came directly from the newspaper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a doctor who made his fortune in the healthcare industry.
The editorial board was set to endorse Harris for the most powerful job in America when the decision was made. Newsweek reports.
LA Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has reportedly made the decision not to issue endorsements for this year’s presidential election.
The Los Angeles Times has exclusively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates since then-Senator Barack Obama ran in 2008.
But when the paper released its endorsements at the state and national level last weekthe only mention of the presidential race was in its first line which stated that “it is no exaggeration that this may be the most consequential decision in a generation.”
The editors did not explain their decision not to endorse in the presidential election, although they noted at the bottom of the page that “the editorial board endorses selectively, choosing the most important races to make recommendations.”
A spokesperson for the newspaper told Semafor: “We do not comment on internal discussions or decisions on editorials or endorsements.”
However, the decision not to publish a presidential endorsement marks a change for Harris’ home state newspaper, which has published them from the 1880s until 1972, when the paper endorsed Richard Nixon for re-election months after the hotel assault. Watergate, a decision that then-editor Otis Chandler said he later regretted.
Members of the editorial board were reportedly preparing to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the nation’s highest office when the decision was made.
However, he began posting endorsements again in 2008 with Obama’s historic run for president.
Since then, the editorial board has exclusively endorsed Democratic candidates for the nation’s highest office.
But in 2020, Soon-Shiong decided to rescind the editorial board again after it planned to endorse Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the Democratic primary.
He would later endorse Biden for president instead of Trump.