Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the endorsement of New Hampshire's influential Union-Leader on Sunday.
The newspaper said Gingrich is not a "perfect candidate ... but Republican primary voters too often make the mistake of preferring an unattainable ideal to the best candidate who is actually running,” publisher Joe McQuaid wrote, according to The Washington Post.
While long considered the most influential newspaper in the politically pivotal state, the Union-Leader has a mixed record on its presidential endorsements. Its past endorsements have included John McCain in 2008, George W. Bush in 2004, Steve Forbes in 2000, Patrick Buchanan in both 1996 and 1992 and Pete DuPont in 1988. Its best remembered show of clout was back in 1972 when nasty articles about Democratic candidate Edmund Muskie provoked the Maine senator to hold a press conference in front of the newspaper’s offices. When Muskie was seen shedding tears, it was considered a fatal blow to his candidacy.
George Condon Jr. contributed.
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