Mitt Romney Snags Des Moines Register Endorsement

Oct. 29, 2012— -- intro: Iowa's largest newspaper has endorsed Mitt Romney, delivering a blow to President Barack Obama, who it endorsed in 2008.

The Des Moines Register's editorial board wrote that Obama's "best efforts to resuscitate the stumbling economy have fallen short. Nothing indicates it would change with a second term in the White House."

Romney becomes the first Republican the paper has endorsed since 1972.

And the Miami Herald renewed its endorsement of Obama on Oct. 28, citing his actions to bailout the auto industry and end the Iraq war. The paper endorsed Obama in 2008.

As the president and Romney crisscross the country in the closing week of the campaign, they're hoping to pick up endorsements from influential newspapers that could help boost their fortunes in key swing states.

In 2008, more than 400 newspapers endorsed a presidential candidate, according to Editor & Publisher magazine, which tracked the endorsements.

Here is a guide to the swing state paper editorial boards picks for the presidency:

quicklist: 1title: Iowacategory:text: The visit Romney made to the Des Moines Register editorial board revealed how seriously his campaign takes its endorsement.

After backing McCain and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries, the Register endorsed Obama in that general election. Obama won the state by a wide margin.

Perhaps foreshadowing its 2012 endorsement of Romney, the paper tangled with the Obama campaign last week when the campaign initially refused to allow the editorial board's interview with Obama to be on the record. The campaign eventually relented and released a transcript of the comments.

In the end, the Register endorsed Romney, the first time it endorsed a Republican since 1972.

quicklist: 2title: Floridacategory:text: In Florida, whose 29 electoral votes may be among the crown jewels of presidential politics, the state's two largest newspapers have split their endorsements.

The Tampa Bay Times, once again, opted for Obama Friday saying that "now is not the time to reverse course.

"The recovery has proven more difficult than anyone imagined," the editorial board said. "But conditions would be far worse without the president's steady leadership."

Romney secured a big vote of confidence from the Orlando Sentinel, the largest newspaper in central Florida, which endorsed Obama in 2008.

"We have little confidence that Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years," the paper's editorial board wrote. "For that reason, though we endorsed him in 2008, we are recommending Romney in this race."

Obama won Florida by 2.8 percent in 2008.

In the fierce battle for Florida's 29 Electoral College votes, the endorsements of Obama and Romney by the Tampa Bay Times and the Orlando Sentinel, respectively, are major boosts.

The Tampa Tribune also backed Romney in an editorial, hoping to boost his fortunes in the state. The paper endorsed McCain in 2008.

quicklist: 3title: Wisconsincategory:text: Mitt Romney's selection of Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate put the normally blue state into play in November. The state's dramatic political shift in the 2010 election toward the Republican Party has added to its swing state status. Its largest paper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, endorsed Obama in 2008 and Sen. John Kerry in 2004 but has declined to endorse any candidate for president in 2012.