Minnesota Star Tribune endorses voters, not candidates, in upcoming election

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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The newly rebranded Minnesota Star Tribune announced in August that it will not offer political endorsements in the upcoming general election. It was not an impromptu decision to pause our long-standing practice. Rather, it is a strategy designed to explore new and creative ways of providing useful analysis to our readers.

Now, as we near the stretch run of the most consequential presidential election in the nation’s recent history — and of a campaign that has had an extraordinary run of developments — here’s what you can expect in the coming weeks.

We will vet the positions and offer policy analysis of the candidates seeking the nation’s two highest offices. We will take note of but forgo staid judgment as to what might qualify as disqualifying campaign behavior. We are confident in the ability of informed citizens to decide whom they wish to vote for based on what they see, hear and research.

We will remain sharply focused on providing an overview of the issues that we believe matter most to Minnesotans and align with our collective welfare. These issues include but are not limited to candidate stances on the following:

We will also examine policy positions of candidates in the race for the U.S. Senate seat that is currently held by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and also weigh in on a few of Minnesota’s more competitive U.S. House races. With the makeup of the U.S. Senate and House being so closely contested, the short-term future for control of Congress hangs in the balance.

While we will not offer endorsements in most down-ballot races, we will offer perspective on salient issues confronting the Minnesota Supreme Court, where three seats are up for grabs. The same holds true for the Minnesota House, where the entire chamber faces re-election.

The House will take up many important issues in the coming session that can profoundly affect the state, which is why we strongly encourage all voters to study candidates’ positions beyond 30-second TV commercials, social media blitzes, and the mailers that will continue to land in mailboxes between now and Nov. 5.

While we will do our part to inform and advise, ultimately, we know it’s up to each voter to recognize the enormous stakes at play. It’s up to us all to undertake the public service of self-education beyond consumption of paid advertisements and, in some cases, posts by celebrity influencers.

After Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democrats’ nominee, there was a huge surge in expressed young voter interest in the race. At least some of this interest was spurred by pop icon Taylor Swift. Immediately after the conclusion of last week’s presidential debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump, she posted to her 284 million Instagram followers that she would be voting for Harris.

Trump, in turn, has received the full-throated endorsement of Elon Musk, who restored Trump’s Twitter privileges shortly after buying the social media platform, which he subsequently renamed X.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board remains committed to using its platform to help inform Minnesota voters as they decide what is in their own best political welfare. We’re endorsing you!