The Union Leader, New Hampshire’s largest newspaper and one that reliably picked Republicans for a century before the rise of Donald Trump, endorsed Nikki Haley on Sunday in the Republican primary.
“Of course, we can’t talk about Nikki Haley without addressing the elephant in the room and the rather old donkey hiding in the White House,” it wrote, alluding to Mr. Trump and President Biden — though making no mention of Mr. Trump by name.
The newspaper did not endorse Mr. Trump in the previous two cycles, either.
In the 2016 Republican contest, it backed then-Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey — but later retracted its endorsement when Mr. Christie, who dropped out of the race after a poor showing in New Hampshire, endorsed Mr. Trump.
Then in the 2016 general election, for the first time in more than 100 years, it did not endorse a Republican, instead choosing Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee.
And in 2020, it endorsed Joseph R. Biden Jr. instead of Mr. Trump, who had previously called the newspaper’s publisher a “lowlife” in a television interview.
“Nikki Haley is an opportunity to vote for a candidate rather than against those two,” the endorsement reads, again referring to Mr. Trump. It called Ms. Haley a “candidate who can run circles around the dinosaurs from the last two administrations, backwards and in heels.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
