Kamala Harris Dealt Blow by Home State Newspaper

Vice President Kamala Harris has been dealt a blow by a major newspaper in her home state of California after The Los Angeles Times editorial board was reportedly blocked from endorsing her by owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Executive Editor Terry Tang told the board earlier this month that the paper would not be allowed to issue an endorsement for president, according to a Tuesday report from Semafor that cites “two people familiar with the situation.” Soon-Shiong, a South African American medical doctor and billionaire entrepreneur who has owned the paper since 2018, reportedly made the decision.
The Los Angeles Times has endorsed the Democratic candidate for president in every previous election since 2008, although it had issued no presidential endorsements for several decades up to that point. The editorial board had reportedly been “preparing” to endorse Harris when the decision to block the endorsement was made.
Soon-Shiong previously blocked the board from backing Senator Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. However, the paper was eventually allowed to endorse President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump in that year’s general election.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek in response to a request for comment from Tang, a Los Angeles Times spokesperson said the following: “We do not comment on internal discussions or decisions about editorials or endorsements.”
Newsweek also reached out to Soon-Shiong via email for comment on Tuesday.
Harris was conspicuously absent from a list of endorsements published by the paper last week. Progressive positions on ballot measures and the campaigns of Democratic candidates, like Congressman Adam Schiff’s run for U.S. Senate, were endorsed.
The endorsement article also suggested that the presidential race was “the most consequential election in a generation” despite not mentioning which candidate the board preferred.
In a separate opinion article, Letter Editor Paul Thornton referenced Harris by writing that the “office-seekers and ballot measures” the board weighed in on “didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree.”
Soon-Shiong attempted to snag a “senior role” in the Trump administration in early 2017, according to STAT News. The billionaire reportedly met with Trump at least twice to discuss a possible role, although no position ultimately materialized.
While many newspapers do not issue presidential endorsements, most that do have backed Harris over Trump this year. However, the vice president lost a few high-profile endorsements previously given to President Joe Biden during the 2020 election.
Notably, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which previously backed Biden, declined to endorse any candidate for president in September. The International Association of Fire Fighters adopted a similar position earlier this month despite endorsing Biden in 2020.
Update 10/22/24, 8:40 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from a Los Angeles Times spokesperson.