For candidates in very close races, is an endorsement in The Palm Beach Post the ‘kiss of death’ in future elections?

First, should newspapers ‘up For-Sale’ even be making political endorsements?

Because the Post was put up For-Sale last October and candidates in the most recent elections, some of them women in very close elections (especially so in Central Palm Beach County [CPBC]), put a lot of faith in that endorsement thinking it would give them another 3–4 percentage points?

Where was the public in all this? Does anyone know? And could it be the editor(s) know full well a Post endorsement could hurt some candidates and possibly swing an election one way or the other? Interesting question, isn’t it?

Down below — at the end of this blog post — is a link to another blog post from last Thursday, two days after the municipal elections in Palm Beach County, which posits these questions as well:

• Should those losing candidates last Tuesday relied less on that endorsement from the Post and focused more on other endorsements, e.g., from other elected officials and business leaders?
• Was Drew Martin, who was running for mayor of Lake Worth, responsible for Sarah Malega’s loss because the public may have believed Malega was running on a ‘slate’ with Martin?
• How much did former-Commissioner McVoy’s decision not to run against Mayor Pam Triolo affect the entire dynamics of those two races in this City?

And most importantly!

Drum roll please. . .

In 2020 there will be no elections for candidates in the City of Lake Worth. That’s right.

A year off following the elections next year in March of 2019. Why is that? Because of a referendum that passed in 2017 by a wide margin increasing terms for elected officials from two to three years.

On the ballot next year: District 2 Commissioner
Omari Hardy and District 4 Commissioner
Herman C. Robinson.

Now about those questions above, e.g., is the Post endorsement for women candidates in close elections a ‘kiss of death’ in CPBC? Click on this link to read more about that and much more.