The Washington Post

==Political stance==
{{Liberalism US|Media}}
===20th century===
[[File:Waterboarding a captured North Vietnamese soldier near Da Nang.jpeg|thumb|Two United States soldiers and a [[South Vietnam]]ese soldier [[Waterboarding|waterboard]] a captured [[North Vietnam]]ese prisoner during the [[Vietnam War]]; the image, which appeared on the front cover of ''The Washington Post'' on January 21, 1968, led to the court-martial of a United States soldier, although ''The Washington Post'' described waterboarding as "fairly common".<ref name=nprweiner20071103>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Weiner |author-link=Eric Weiner |title=Waterboarding: A Tortured History |date=November 3, 2007 |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/11/03/15886834/waterboarding-a-tortured-history |access-date=December 19, 2007 |archive-date=December 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205074814/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15886834 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=walter20061005>{{cite news |first=Walter |last=Pincus |author-link=Walter Pincus |date=October 5, 2006 |title=Waterboarding Historically Controversial |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR2006100402005.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 20, 2009 |page=A17 |archive-date=July 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706171507/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR2006100402005.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

In 1933, financier Eugene Meyer bought the bankrupt ''Post'', and assured the public that neither he nor the newspaper would not be beholden to any political party.<ref>{{cite book|author=Chalmers McGeagh Roberts|title=The Washington Post: The First 100 Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22In+purchasing+The+Post,+I+acted+entirely+on+my+own+behalf%22&pg=PT198|year=1977|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-395-25854-5|page=198|access-date=January 2, 2022|archive-date=October 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004065511/https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22In+purchasing+The+Post,+I+acted+entirely+on+my+own+behalf%22&pg=PT198|url-status=live}}</ref> But as a leading Republican who had been appointed [[Chairman of the Federal Reserve]] by [[Herbert Hoover]] in 1930, his opposition to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] colored the paper's editorials and news coverage, including [[opinion piece|editorializing]] news stories written by Meyer under a pseudonym.<ref>{{cite book|author=Tom Kelly|title=The Imperial Post: The Meyers, the Grahams, and the Paper that Rules Washington|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NhhlAAAAMAAJ&q=%22anonymous%20reporting%22|year=1983|publisher=Morrow|pages=63–64|isbn=978-0-688-01919-8|access-date=May 22, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614005907/https://books.google.com/books?id=NhhlAAAAMAAJ&q=%22anonymous+reporting%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Ernest Lamb|title=New Deal a Mistake, Says Glass, Holding U.S. Will Regret It: Senator, in Interview, Tells 'Unvarnished Truth' |agency=The Washington Post|publisher=Eugene Meyer |date=April 8, 1934|pages=1, 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ernest Lamb|title=Council Fought Security Act, Records Show: Statements by Wagner and Winant Are Refuted by Hearing Transcript. |agency=The Washington Post|publisher=Eugene Meyer |date=October 8, 1936|pages=1, 12}}</ref> His wife [[Agnes Ernst Meyer]] was a journalist from the other end of the spectrum politically. The ''Post'' ran many of her pieces including tributes to her personal friends [[John Dewey]] and [[Saul Alinsky]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Agnes Ernst Meyer|title=In Defense of Dr. Dewey|agency=The Washington Post|date=December 10, 1939|page=B8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Carol Felsenthal|title=Power, Privilege and the Post: The Katharine Graham Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0lNDwAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Meyers%27+homes%2C+which+he+visited+often+24+Alinsky%22|year=1993|publisher=Seven Stories Press|pages=19, 127|isbn=978-1-60980-290-5|access-date=September 30, 2018|archive-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702021347/https://books.google.com/books?id=x0lNDwAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Meyers%27+homes%2C+which+he+visited+often+24+Alinsky%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Agnes Ernst Meyer|title=Orderly Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h3utnQEACAAJ|year=1945|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 30, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323125143/https://books.google.com/books?id=h3utnQEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sanford D. Horwitt|title=Let Them Call Me Rebel: Saul Alinsky, His Life and Legacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j44DAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Alinsky%27s+get-togethers+with+Agnes+Meyer%22|year=1989|publisher=Knopf|page=195|isbn=978-0-394-57243-7|access-date=September 30, 2018|archive-date=July 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703020746/https://books.google.com/books?id=j44DAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Alinsky%27s+get-togethers+with+Agnes+Meyer%22|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1946, Meyer was appointed head of [[World Bank]], and he named his son-in-law Phil Graham to succeed him as ''Post'' publisher. The post-war years saw the developing friendship of Phil and Kay Graham with the Kennedys, the Bradlees and the rest of the "[[Georgetown, D.C.|Georgetown]] Set" (many [[Harvard]] [[alumni]]) that would color the ''Post's'' political orientation.<ref>{{cite news |author=Gregg Herken |title=The Georgetown Set |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-georgetown-set-112125 |access-date=September 20, 2018 |publisher=Politico |date=October 22, 2014 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920195425/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-georgetown-set-112125 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kay Graham's most memorable Georgetown soirée guest list included British diplomat/communist spy [[Donald Maclean (spy)|Donald Maclean]].<ref name="Philipps2018">{{cite book|author=Roland Philipps|title=A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald Maclean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=osM6DwAAQBAJ&q=%22Katharine%20Graham%20proprietor%20of%20the%20Washington%20Post%22|year=2018|publisher=W. W. Norton|isbn=978-0-393-60858-8|page=134|access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323125144/https://books.google.com/books?id=osM6DwAAQBAJ&q=%22Katharine%20Graham%20proprietor%20of%20the%20Washington%20Post%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Graham1997>{{cite book|author=Katharine Graham|title=Personal History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkxz77hC_48C&q=katharine%20graham&pg=PA156|year=1997|publisher=A.A. Knopf|isbn=978-0-394-58585-7|page=156|access-date=September 30, 2020|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320093040/https://books.google.com/books?id=jkxz77hC_48C&q=katharine%20graham&pg=PA156|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ''Post'' is credited with coining the term "[[McCarthyism]]" in a 1950 [[editorial cartoon]] by [[Herbert Block]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Chalmers McGeagh Roberts|title=The Washington Post: The First 100 Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22Herblock+in+fact+who+coined+the+term%22|year=1977|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-395-25854-5|page=280|access-date=September 18, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323125145/https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22Herblock+in+fact+who+coined+the+term%22|url-status=live}}</ref> Depicting buckets of tar, it made fun of Sen. [[Joseph McCarthy]]'s "tarring" tactics, i.e., [[smear campaign]]s and character assassination against those targeted by his accusations. Sen. McCarthy was attempting to do for the Senate what the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] had been doing for years—investigating [[Soviet espionage in the United States|Soviet espionage in America]]. The [[HUAC]] made Richard Nixon nationally known for his role in the [[Alger Hiss|Hiss]]/[[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers]] case that exposed communist spying in the [[State Department]]. The committee had evolved from the [[John William McCormack|McCormack]]-[[Samuel Dickstein (congressman)|Dickstein]] Committee of the 1930s.<ref name=Duffy>{{cite news| author = Peter Duffy| title = The Congressman Who Spied for Russia: The Strange Case of Samuel Dickstein| publisher = Politico| url = https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/samuel-dickstein-congressman-russian-spy-111641?paginate=false| date = October 6, 2014| access-date = September 20, 2018| archive-date = September 20, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180920195522/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/samuel-dickstein-congressman-russian-spy-111641?paginate=false| url-status = live}}</ref>

Phil Graham's friendship with [[John F. Kennedy]] remained strong until their deaths in 1963.<ref>{{cite book|author=Chalmers McGeagh Roberts|title=The Washington Post: The First 100 Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Phil+Graham+I+have+so+much+admiration+for%22|access-date=September 9, 2018|year=1977|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-395-25854-5|page=363|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202104741/https://books.google.com/books?id=OY61AAAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Phil+Graham+I+have+so+much+admiration+for%22|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI Director]] [[J. Edgar Hoover]] reportedly told the new President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], "I don't have much influence with the ''Post'' because I frankly don't read it. I view it like the ''[[Daily Worker]]''."<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael R. Beschloss|title=Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963–1964|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gI54AAAAMAAJ|year=1997|page=32|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-684-80407-1|access-date=September 30, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323125146/https://books.google.com/books?id=gI54AAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Taylor Branch|title=Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963–65|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIi6qNbcoMgC&q=%22I+view+it+like+the+Daily+Worker%22|year=1997|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=180|isbn=978-1-4165-5870-5|access-date=September 18, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323125147/https://books.google.com/books?id=JIi6qNbcoMgC&q=%22I+view+it+like+the+Daily+Worker%22|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Anchor|Pravda on the Potomac}}

Ben Bradlee became the editor-in-chief in 1968, and Kay Graham officially became the publisher in 1969, paving the way for the aggressive reporting of the ''[[Pentagon Papers]]'' and [[Watergate scandal]]s. The ''Post'' strengthened public opposition to the Vietnam War in 1971 when it published the ''Pentagon Papers''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pentagon Papers |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pentagon-Papers |work=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=July 12, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622112034/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pentagon-Papers |url-status=live }}</ref> In the mid-1970s, some conservatives referred to the ''Post'' as "''[[Pravda]]'' on the [[Potomac River|Potomac]]" because of its perceived left-wing bias in both reporting and editorials.<ref>Bruce Bartlett (March 13, 2007), [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/mar/13/20070313-090315-7881r/ "Partisan Press Parity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510011750/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/mar/13/20070313-090315-7881r/ |date=May 10, 2011 }}. ''The Washington Times''.</ref> Since then, the appellation has been used by both liberal and conservative critics of the newspaper.<ref>James Kirchick (February 17, 2009), [http://www.tnr.com/article/pravda-the-potomac "Pravda on the Potomac"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905065212/http://www.tnr.com/article/pravda-the-potomac |date=September 5, 2011 }}. ''The New Republic''.</ref><ref>William Greider (March 6, 2003), [http://www.thenation.com/article/washington-post-warriors "Washington Post Warriors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515044255/http://www.thenation.com/article/washington-post-warriors |date=May 15, 2011 }}, ''The Nation''</ref>

===21st century===
In the [[PBS]] documentary ''Buying the War'', journalist [[Bill Moyers]] said in the year prior to the [[Iraq War]] there were 27 editorials supporting the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]]'s desire to invade Iraq. National security correspondent [[Walter Pincus]] reported that he had been ordered to cease his reports that were critical of the administration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/transcript1.html|title=Transcript: "Buying the War"|date=April 25, 2007|work=PBS|access-date=December 13, 2009|archive-date=October 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171001004459/http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/transcript1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to author and journalist [[Greg Mitchell]]: "By the ''Post''{{'s}} own admission, in the months before the war, it ran more than 140 stories on its front page promoting the war, while contrary information got lost".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/eleven-years-how-washington-post-helped-give-us-iraq-war/ |title=Eleven Years On: How 'The Washington Post' Helped Give Us the Iraq War |date=March 12, 2014|work= [[The Nation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304190318/https://www.thenation.com/article/eleven-years-how-washington-post-helped-give-us-iraq-war/ |archive-date=March 4, 2017 |url-status = dead}}</ref>

On March 23, 2007, [[Chris Matthews]] said on his television program, "''The Washington Post'' is not the liberal newspaper it was [...] I have been reading it for years and it is a [[neoconservatism|neocon]] newspaper".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna17798805|title=Hardball with Chris Matthews for March 23|date=March 26, 2007|work=[[NBC News]]|access-date=April 4, 2009|archive-date=May 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505001030/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17798805|url-status=live}}</ref> It has regularly published a mixture of op-ed columnists, with some of them left-leaning (including [[E.&nbsp;J. Dionne]], [[Dana Milbank]], Greg Sargent, and [[Eugene Robinson (journalist)|Eugene Robinson]]), and some of them right-leaning (including [[George Will]], [[Marc Thiessen]], [[Michael Gerson]] and [[Charles Krauthammer]]).

Responding to criticism of the newspaper's coverage during the run-up to the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], former ''Post'' [[ombudsman]] [[Deborah Howell]] wrote: "The opinion pages have strong conservative voices; the editorial board includes centrists and conservatives; and there were editorials critical of Obama. Yet opinion was still weighted toward Obama."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/14/AR2008111403057.html|title=Remedying the Bias Perception|date=November 16, 2008|newspaper=The Washington Post|author=Howell, Deborah|author-link=Deborah Howell|access-date=February 5, 2016|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305001212/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/14/AR2008111403057.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2009 [[Oxford University Press]] book by Richard Davis on the impact of blogs on American politics, liberal bloggers link to ''The Washington Post'' and ''The New York Times'' more often than other major newspapers; however, conservative bloggers also link predominantly to liberal newspapers.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWZ2-5wla3MC&pg=PA79|title=Typing Politics: The Role of Blogs in American Politics|publisher=Oxford UP|year=2009|page=79|author=Richard Davis|isbn=9780199706136|access-date=July 2, 2015|archive-date=September 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911091803/https://books.google.com/books?id=PWZ2-5wla3MC&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2011, the ''Post'' has been running a column called "The Fact Checker" that the ''Post'' describes as a "truth squad".<ref name="About the Fact Checker">Glenn Kessler (January 1, 2017), [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ "About the Fact Checker"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306013444/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ |date=March 6, 2019 }}, ''The Washington Post''</ref> The Fact Checker received a $250,000 grant from [[Google News Initiative]]/YouTube to expand production of video [[fact-checking|fact checks]].<ref name="About the Fact Checker"/>

In mid-September 2016, Matthew Ingram of ''[[Forbes]]'' joined [[Glenn Greenwald]] of ''[[The Intercept]]'', and Trevor Timm of ''[[The Guardian]]'' in criticizing ''The Washington Post'' for "demanding that [former National Security Agency contractor Edward] Snowden&nbsp;... stand trial on espionage charges".<ref>{{cite web|author=Glenn Greenwald|date=September 18, 2016|website=The Intercept|url=https://theintercept.com/2016/09/18/washpost-makes-history-first-paper-to-call-for-prosecution-of-its-own-source-after-accepting-pulitzer/|title=WashPost Makes History: First Paper to Call for Prosecution of Its Own Source (After Accepting Pulitzer)|access-date=October 9, 2016|archive-date=November 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110182839/https://theintercept.com/2016/09/18/washpost-makes-history-first-paper-to-call-for-prosecution-of-its-own-source-after-accepting-pulitzer/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Ingram|first1=Matthew|title=Here's Why The Washington Post Is Wrong About Edward Snowden|url=https://fortune.com/2016/09/19/washington-post-snowden/ |url-access=subscription |date=September 19, 2016 |website=Fortune |access-date=October 9, 2016|archive-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011193529/http://fortune.com/2016/09/19/washington-post-snowden/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Disis|first1=Jill|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/washington-post-criticism-snowden-pardon/ |website=CNN Business |title=Washington Post criticized for opposing Snowden pardon|date=September 18, 2016|access-date=August 3, 2020|archive-date=May 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527004403/https://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/washington-post-criticism-snowden-pardon/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Trimm|first1=Trevor|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/19/washington-post-wrong-edward-snowden-pardon|title=The Washington Post is wrong: Edward Snowden should be pardoned|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=September 19, 2016|access-date=October 9, 2016|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022102758/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/19/washington-post-wrong-edward-snowden-pardon|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2017, the ''Post'' adopted the slogan "[[Democracy Dies in Darkness]]" for its masthead.<ref name="OldSaying">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-washington-posts-new-slogan-turns-out-to-be-an-old-saying/2017/02/23/cb199cda-fa02-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html|title=The Washington Post's new slogan turns out to be an old saying|last=Farhi|first=Paul|date=February 23, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 26, 2017|archive-date=January 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111001213/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-washington-posts-new-slogan-turns-out-to-be-an-old-saying/2017/02/23/cb199cda-fa02-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Political endorsements====
In the vast majority of U.S. elections, for federal, state, and local office, the ''Post'' editorial board has endorsed [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidates.<ref name=Pexton2012>{{cite news |author=Patrick B. Pexton |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-the-posts-endorsements-historically-tend-democratic/2012/11/02/6890a49a-250a-11e2-ba29-238a6ac36a08_story.html |title=Patrick Pexton: The Post's endorsements historically tend Democratic |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |date=November 2, 2012 |access-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-date=July 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705150603/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-the-posts-endorsements-historically-tend-democratic/2012/11/02/6890a49a-250a-11e2-ba29-238a6ac36a08_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The paper's editorial board and endorsement decision-making are separate from newsroom operations.<ref name=Pexton2012/> Until 1976, the ''Post'' did not regularly make endorsements in presidential elections. Since it endorsed [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976, the ''Post'' has endorsed Democrats in presidential elections, and has never endorsed a Republican for president in the general election,<ref name=Pexton2012/> although in the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]], the ''Post'' declined to endorse either Governor [[Michael Dukakis]] (the Democratic candidate) or Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]] (the Republican candidate).<ref name=Pexton2012/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/02/us/post-makes-no-endorsement.html |title=Post Makes No Endorsement |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 1988 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=September 19, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105025222/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/02/us/post-makes-no-endorsement.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Post'' editorial board endorsed Barack Obama in 2008<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html |title=Barack Obama for President |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 17, 2008 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-date=April 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422090843/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and 2012;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washington-post-endorsement-four-more-years-for-president-obama/2012/10/25/6ca309a2-1965-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html |title=Washington Post Endorsement: Four More Years for President Obama |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 25, 2012 |access-date=October 28, 2012 |archive-date=October 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027202419/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washington-post-endorsement-four-more-years-for-president-obama/2012/10/25/6ca309a2-1965-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Hillary Clinton]] in [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]];<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clinton-for-president/2016/10/12/665f9698-8caf-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |title=Hillary Clinton for President |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013112353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/hillary-clinton-for-president/2016/10/12/665f9698-8caf-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Joe Biden]] for [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 28, 2020 |title=Joe Biden for president |language=en |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/28/editorial-board-endorsement-joe-biden/ |access-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005211345/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/28/editorial-board-endorsement-joe-biden/?arc404=true |url-status=live }}</ref>

While the newspaper predominantly endorses Democrats in congressional, state, and local elections, it has occasionally endorsed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidates.<ref name=Pexton2012/> While the paper has not endorsed Republican candidates for [[governor of Virginia]],<ref name=Pexton2012/> it endorsed [[Governor of Maryland|Maryland Governor]] [[Robert Ehrlich]]'s unsuccessful bid for a second term in 2006.<ref name=Pexton2012/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501668.html |title=Wrong Choice for Governor |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 26, 2006 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629002651/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102501668.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, it repeated its historic endorsements of every Republican incumbent for Congress in [[Northern Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900552.html |title=For Congress in Virginia |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 30, 2006 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821080558/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900552.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Post'' editorial board endorsed Virginia's Republican U.S. Senator [[John Warner]] in his Senate reelection campaign in 1990, 1996 and 2002; the paper's most recent endorsement of a Maryland Republican for U.S. Senate was in the 1980s, when the paper endorsed Senator [[Charles Mathias|Charlies "Mac" Mathias Jr.]]<ref name=Pexton2012/> In U.S. House of Representatives elections, [[Moderate Republicans (modern United States)|moderate Republicans]] in [[Virginia]] and [[Maryland]], including [[Wayne Gilchrest]], [[Thomas M. Davis]], and [[Frank Wolf (politician)|Frank Wolf]], have enjoyed the support of the ''Post''; the ''Post'' also endorsed Republican [[Carol Schwartz]] in her campaign in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=Pexton2012/>