Friday, March 27, 2009

Impact of Newspaper Endorsements limited in NC

Last year when Pat McCrory was endorsed by many North Carolina newspapers that usually endorse Democrats for Governor, his campaign put a lot of resources into running television ads and otherwise bringing attention to them. But PPP's newest survey finds that most voters don't care.

69% of folks in the state say that who newspapers recommend has minimal or no effect on their voting choices. 20% say they have a moderate impact and just 11% say their influence is significant.

Perhaps not surprisingly given that many of the major papers in the state are often accused of liberal bias, conservatives put the least stock in newspaper endorsements, with 75% saying they have minimal or no impact on their votes. For moderates it's 66% and liberals it's 58%.

The numbers are pretty steady across every region of North Carolina, giving no indication that any particular papers are more or less influential within their coverage areas than others.

Political candidates certainly would always rather have the major newspaper endorsements than not...but it would appear their effect on the outcome of contests is limited.

Full results here.

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