Donald Trump was endorsed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal in an editorial published Saturday night, his first serious newspaper endorsement of the general election. The bulk of the endorsement pitch turned on Supreme Court vacancies, arguing Hillary Clinton must not be permitted to fill those seats.
"Mr. Trump represents neither the danger his critics claim nor the magic elixir many of his supporters crave," the article says. "But he promises to be a source of disruption and discomfort to the privileged, back-scratching political elites for whom the nation's strength and solvency have become subservient to power's pursuit and preservation."
Trump was previously only endorsed for the general election by The National Enquirer, while most paper endorsements have gone to Clinton. Even Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson still easily outpaces Trump in newspaper support, with the backing of notable outlets like the Chicago Tribune, The Detroit News, and more. Bonnie Kristian
The conservative magazine National Review endorsed Ted Cruz on Friday, although not without admitting the senator's flaws. "[Cruz] has sometimes made tactical errors, in our judgment; but conflicts have also arisen because his colleagues have lacked direction, clarity, and urgency. In any case, these conflicts pale into insignificance in light of Republicans' shared interest in winning in November and governing successfully thereafter," National Review writes.
Although the endorsement didn't directly name Trump, National Review goes on to say that Cruz is "Republicans' best chance for keeping their presidential nomination from going to someone with low character and worse principles."
National Review has long positioned itself as being staunchly anti-Trump, although Politico points out that their decision to back Cruz comes as a glaring blow to Marco Rubio. "Ted's the only one with a plausible path to stopping Trump, either by getting a majority himself or denying Trump a majority and finishing close behind and getting it to convention," editor Rich Lowry told Politico ahead of the endorsement.
The National Review goes on to say that, "We are well aware that a lot of Republicans, and even some conservatives, dislike the senator and even find him unlikable. So far, conservative voters seem to like him just fine... No politician is perfect, and Senator Cruz will find that our endorsement comes with friendly and ongoing criticism." Jeva Lange
Donald Trump has earned the respect of yet another controversial extremist.
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan praised Trump while making anti-Semitic comments during his annual Saviours Day sermon from Chicago, the Anti-Defamation League reports. Farrakhan claimed that Trump is "the only member who has stood in front of the Jewish community and said, 'I don't want your money.' Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, 'I don't want your money,' that means you can't control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States."
Although it was not an outright endorsement, Farrakhan did say, "Not that I'm for Mr. Trump, but I like what I'm looking at."
Farrakhan has a history of spreading hateful rumors about Jews, such as by blaming them for the Iraq War and 9/11. He is only the latest extremist to throw his weight behind Donald Trump. Late last week, former KKK grand wizard David Duke praised Donald Trump; Trump later disavowed Duke's support after receiving scathing criticism for his waffling. Jeva Lange
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination Monday, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports.
"As a mother, a grandmother, and a former public servant who had the privilege of serving with Hillary in the president's cabinet, I can think of nothing more important than ensuring our next president is someone who will protect and build upon the progress made by President Obama over the past eight years," the former governor of Kansas said.
In 2008, Sebelius endorsed Obama over Clinton. She resigned from her secretary post in 2014 after overseeing the implementation of Healthcare.gov.
Democrats in Kansas are set to caucus March 5. Julie Kliegman
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may want Hillary Clinton to be the next president, but he hasn't endorsed her over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, even as Sanders has proven himself a more formidable contender than originally expected.
On Feb. 20, Democrats in his home state will be the third to weigh in on the nomination process, and the senator doesn't want to interfere with the caucus' turnout.
"I'm more concentrated on what effect my endorsement has in Nevada, OK? Eight years ago, we registered 30- to 40,000 new Democrats. Tens of thousands, it was unheard of," Reid told Politico. "For me to endorse somebody would just take away the focus on the caucus."
So Reid is tiptoeing around Sanders, making a more concerted effort than many of his colleagues to not criticize the Vermont senator.
"He is very protective of his early first-in-the-West status. He worked hard to get it," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). Julie Kliegman
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is expected to endorse Donald Trump at a New Hampshire rally Tuesday night, two unnamed sources told The Washington Post.
After being defeated by Elizabeth Warren (D) in the 2012 election, Brown ran an unsuccessful 2014 Senate bid from New Hampshire — the nation's second presidential voting state.
Scott would be the first current or former U.S. senator to formally endorse Trump. Julie Kliegman