Of all the content our opinion team produces each year, we get the most interest — and the most questions — about political endorsements. Are we doing them? Why are we doing them? Are we telling you how to vote? Why should you care?
Good questions, all.
Early voting begins Oct. 17 in North Carolina, so let’s get the first question out of the way. Yes, the combined editorial boards of the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh are endorsing candidates in the general election. The recommendations will begin Tuesday online and in print Wednesday. You can find all of them on our main opinion pages online in Charlotte , Raleigh and Durham . We’ll also provide a one-stop, regularly updating story that contains links to every endorsement we make.
Why are we doing them? We’re proud each day and each week to have a voice in conversations important to our communities. Few of those conversations are as important as debating who represents us in local, state and national offices. Each year, subscribers read our endorsements more than anything else we publish.
As with our editorials and columns, we put a lot of work and thought into them. In each race we pursue, members of the editorial board conduct extensive research and offer candidates the opportunity to answer our questions. We also talk to others who know and have worked with the candidates. We then discuss what we’ve learned as a board and make recommendations. We’re not telling you what to think or how you should vote. We’re telling you what we think as the Observer’s and News and Observer’s editorial board.
A little about us: In 2019, the boards of The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh joined forces to provide fuller opinion content to our readers. I’m joined on the combined board by deputy Opinion editors Ned Barnett in Raleigh and Paige Masten in Charlotte, along with Observer Executive Editor Rana Cash, interim News & Observer Executive Editor Thad Ogburn, writer Barry Saunders and op-ed editor David Travis Bland.
As with editorials on local issues, members of the board in Charlotte do not participate in endorsements of Triangle-specific races, or vice versa. The full board does discuss and recommend candidates for statewide races, as well as the U.S. House races on your ballot this year.
We are selective in our endorsements, which means we will make recommendations in competitive and notable races, but not all races. We weigh a lot of factors in those endorsements, including some that go beyond individual races to the makeup of the larger body the candidates want to join. We generally don’t want any institution — whether that’s a city council, state Senate or Supreme Court — to have such a majority that the minority is powerless.
We’ll also continue to consider whether a candidate believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen, as many Republicans disturbingly do. It’s not true, and it threatens the integrity of our election and the roots of our democracy. These claims remain relevant to North Carolina voters, as many 2024 candidates may be casting votes on state and national election measures.
Finally: No, we’re not predicting winners. We’re telling you which candidates we think deserve your consideration. We hope our thoughts and recommendations are helpful. Mostly, we hope you care enough about the election that you participate, too. Please vote.
Peter St. Onge is Opinion editor at the Charlotte Observer, News & Observer in Raleigh and Durham Herald Sun.
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