Election Time, Endorsements, and Washington State Blue
10/21/2024 8:12 am | Share to: 
We got our ballots this past weekend and tonight will be the night we fill them out, ahead of me leaving for a work trip. So they are done and counted well ahead of election day. Along with reading the pamphlet Washington State sends out, I always review the endorsements of the Seattle Times and The Stranger.
For those not in Seattle, The Stranger is our local small newspaper. Saying it is Independent is factually correct, but unfair as a comparison to the Seattle Times, which is also independent in that it is not part of any larger news organization such as the Tribune etc. The Seattle Times does trend comparatively conservative to The Stranger's much more liberal leaning.
To be clear, I don't strictly follow either set of endorsements, but I do read them as additional insights as I'm making my decision on how to vote.
When it comes to national elections, Washington is one of the states which is not up for question. When the polls close on election day, the news teams will immediately announce Washington (and presumably, California and Oregon) as Harris states.
Why? As of this morning polls have Harris with a very solid +15 over Trump for Washington, well outside a margin of error.
That said, I am growing to hate the narrative of "These seven states will decide the election." The feeling of voters that their vote doesn't matter here because the outcome is decided is understandable, but also not true. Without those votes, the outcome changes, or could change. It's like saying, "I work on a factory line and my spot isn't the last one in the line, so the car coming off the line isn't something I want to contribute to."
I get the psychology of it, and I get the clickbaity headlines are what the internet is geared towards. But I find it disappointing all the same.