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:
- the economy and tax policies,
- health care,
- agriculture,
- manufacturing,
- immigration,
- reproductive rights,
- education,
- criminal justice,
- and international relations.
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.