Iowa Newspaper Endorses Amy Klobuchar After Backing Bernie Sanders In 2016
The editorial board for the Quad-City Times, a regional daily newspaper in Iowa, on Sunday endorsed Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The endorsement comes about two weeks before the all-important Iowa caucuses, which have historically proven to be a strong predictor of who will receive a party’s nomination.
The Times endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. He ultimately lost his bid to Hillary Clinton.
This year, the newspaper chose Klobuchar, a proud Midwestern moderate, over Sanders, calling her a “progressive realist” and a “good strategist.” The editorial board praised Klobuchar’s political agenda, including her proposed policies on health care, climate change and infrastructure.
“She won our confidence with the way she’s campaigned in Iowa for more than a year,” the Times editorial board wrote. “She won our endorsement by convincing us that, among her rivals, in this divided political culture, she is the best person to push through an agenda that will better the lives of millions of Americans, including those of us who live in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.”
Hand delivered @amyklobuchar’s @qctimes editorial board endorsement by one of her hyped up staffers @christinafreund this morning (at breakfast) in Davenport, IA
The endorsement calls Klobuchar a “progressive realist,” after going for Sanders in 2016.
15 days til the caucus. pic.twitter.com/qhioC2o6A7— Jasmine Wright (@JasJWright) January 19, 2020
The Times’ endorsement continued:
Amy Klobuchar is somebody who offers the most hope among the Democratic candidates that progress isn’t just a campaign slogan destined to die in the harsh reality of Washington politics.
We believe she can actually cut through the obstacles and move forward; that her Midwestern grit is a reason for hope.
The newspaper, based in Davenport, serves Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.
Klobuchar tweeted that she was “happy” to receive the Times’ endorsement.
“I was most honored by what they said,” she wrote.
Happy today to receive the endorsement of the Quad City Times, which covers Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois.
And I was most honored by what they said:
Editorial: Klobuchar is the one https://t.co/ke4rXn7Vvo— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) January 19, 2020
A Monmouth University poll released Monday showed former Vice President Joe Biden leading the pack of Democratic candidates in Iowa with 24% of likely Democratic voters supporting him. His three closest rivals, according to the poll, were Sanders with 18% support, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 17% and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with 15%.
The same poll found Klobuchar with 8% support from likely Democratic voters.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
