(DailyChive.com) – The Los Angeles Times, Vice President Kamala Harris’s hometown paper, has decided not to endorse a presidential candidate in 2024. This is seen as a subtle dig at Harris, given that the paper endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Barack Obama in both 2012 and 2008.
The choice not to endorse came directly from the paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, according to reporting from Semafor’s Max Tani. Earlier this month, executive editor Terry Tang reportedly informed the editorial board that the paper would sit out endorsing any candidate in the upcoming election. Soon-Shiong, a billionaire who made his fortune in healthcare, made the final call.
The Times hasn’t offered much explanation for its decision, only noting that the editorial board endorses “selectively” and focuses on races it finds especially important. But given the pattern of past endorsements, many are left wondering if this non-decision reflects underlying tensions about Harris’s political future.
This isn’t the first time Soon-Shiong has pulled rank on the editorial board. In 2020, the paper interviewed Democratic candidates with the intent of backing one in the primary. The board was set to endorse Elizabeth Warren, but Soon-Shiong shut it down at the last minute, ordering that no endorsement be made in the primary. However, the Times did go on to endorse Biden for the general election that year.
Interestingly, the Times has a history of complicated relationships with political endorsements. After Richard Nixon’s scandal-plagued presidency, the paper stopped endorsing candidates altogether. The Times had once been a consistent supporter of Nixon throughout his House, Senate, and presidential runs. But after his resignation following Watergate, the paper took a 30-year break from endorsements. It wasn’t until 2008, with Obama’s first run for the White House, that the Times decided to jump back into the endorsement game.
The paper’s decision this year feels more than just routine. It leaves many asking: if the Times won’t back the hometown candidate—and someone as high-profile as the sitting vice president—what message does that send about Harris’s standing, even among her own?
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