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Chicago Tribune endorses Gary Johnson for president

The Chicago Tribune on Friday endorsed Libertarian Gary Johnson for president, joining a handful of other newspapers around the country that have rejected both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees.

“We would rather recommend a principled candidate for president — regardless of his or her prospects for victory — than suggest that voters cast ballots for such disappointing major-party candidates,” the editorial board wrote.

“We reject the cliche that a citizen who chooses a principled third-party candidate is squandering his or her vote,” the endorsement continued. “…We offer this endorsement to encourage voters who want to feel comfortable with their choice. Who want to vote for someone they can admire.”

The Tribune has traditionally endorsed Republicans in the past, although in 2008 and in 2012 it endorsed Chicago's own Barack Obama. In May, the Chicago paper endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the Republican primary, and declined to endorse either Democratic candidate. In March, it wrote that it would not endorse Trump under any circumstances.

In Friday’s endorsement of Johnson, the Tribune’s editorial board wrote that Donald Trump is “not fit to be president of the United States,” and declined to endorse Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton on the grounds of her federal spending and taxation plans, along with “serious questions about honesty and trust.”

“Taken together, Trump and Clinton have serious flaws that prevent us from offering our support to either of them,” the editorial board wrote.

It’s the fifth newspaper endorsement that Johnson, who is polling in the single digits, has received from traditionally right-leaning editorial boards. On Thursday, The Detroit News, which has until this year always endorsed Republican candidates for the presidency, endorsed Johnson. The Libertarian candidate also has received endorsements from the New Hampshire Union-Leader, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Winston-Salem Journal.