Endorsements: We’re asking about 2020 before we recommend for 2022
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Endorsements 2022
The Editorial Board’s recommendations for the primary elections on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
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Endorsements: We’re asking about 2020 before we recommend for 2022
Endorsements: Our choices in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate primaries
Endorsements: All of the Charlotte Observer’s choices in the 2022 primaries
How to find the Charlotte Observer’s endorsements for 2022 primary races
How to find the News & Observer’s endorsements for 2022 primary races
North Carolina’s 2022 primary elections arrive this week a little later than usual thanks to some election map wrangling. Early voting for N.C., which includes state and local races, begins Thursday. There are meaningful races up and down the ballot, from voters narrowing the field in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, to Wake and Mecklenburg voters deciding who will represent them closer to home.
We’re approaching these races — and our recommendations for them — much the same on the Editorial Board. Some background: In 2019, the boards of The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh joined forces to provide fuller and more diverse opinion content to our readers. The combined board is led by N.C. Opinion editor Peter St. Onge, who is joined in Charlotte by Observer Executive Editor Rana Cash, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Kevin Siers and Opinion writer Paige Masten. In Raleigh, associate editor Ned Barnett is joined by News & Observer Executive Editor Bill Church, McClatchy Vice President of Local News Robyn Tomlin and Opinion writer Sara Pequeño.
The News & Observer, which prior to 2020 did not make recommendations in primary races in recent history, will again do so this year. Endorsements for the News & Observer and Observer will include local U.S. House races, N.C. House and Senate races, and contested city and county races. The combined board also will issue recommendations in the U.S. Senate primaries.
There’s been a significant change since 2020, however, and we’re doing something different because of it.
Republicans nationwide, led by their former president, continue to say the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. That’s a falsehood, and it’s one that threatens the democracy we treasure. Not all Republicans feel this way, of course, but many that do will be casting votes on state and national voting measures.
The Editorial Board believes you should know what Republican candidates believe about the 2020 election. So we’re asking those running for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and N.C. House and Senate if Joe Biden is the duly elected president. Thus far, a handful have declined to say yes, including one running for U.S. House. Tyler Lee, a candidate for the 12th Congressional District candidate, said the election was stolen. He was unable, of course, to offer evidence to support his claim.
There might be others who do the same as we finish candidate interviews this week. We certainly consider a lot of factors when we make our endorsements, but we will not recommend any candidate who participates in the dangerous lie that the election was stolen.
As always, we will be selective in our endorsements, which means we will make recommendations in competitive and notable races, but not all races. In each race we pursue, members of the editorial board conduct research and interview candidates, and we talk to others who know and have worked with the candidates. We then discuss what we’ve learned as a board and make recommendations.
As with editorials on local issues, members of the board in Charlotte do not participate in endorsements of Triangle-specific races, or vice versa. Also, as always, Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer reporters have no involvement in our endorsements. (But you should explore the thorough reporting in the Raleigh and Charlotte newsrooms’ voter guides.)
Another thing we’re not doing is telling you how to vote. Our Editorial Board is one of many voices in the conversations our communities have each day, and the same is true with elections. When we make recommendations on races, we’re arming you with more information and perspective, but we hope and expect readers to make their own choices. And if your choice is “whomever the Editorial Board doesn’t endorse” — as we hear each election — that’s OK, too!
Beginning this week, we’ll share our recommendations with you. As always, our strongest recommendation is this: Please, go vote.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat is the Editorial Board?
The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer editorial boards combined in 2019 to provide fuller and more diverse North Carolina opinion content to our readers. The editorial board operates independently from the newsrooms in Charlotte and Raleigh and does not influence the work of the reporting and editing staffs. The combined board is led by N.C. Opinion Editor Peter St. Onge, who is joined in Raleigh by deputy Opinion editor Ned Barnett and in Charlotte by deputy Opinion editor Paige Masten. Board members also include Observer editor Rana Cash and News & Observer editor Nicole Stockdale. For questions about the board or our editorials, email pstonge@charlotteobserver.com.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Endorsements: We’re asking about 2020 before we recommend for 2022."