'The Arizona Republic' endorses Hillary Clinton after 126 years of only backing Republicans

The Arizona Republic was founded in 1890 and since then, they've endorsed a Republican for president every single election. 

On Tuesday, however, the newspaper made a startling announcement. For the first time in its 126 year history, the newspaper endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, claiming that Trump's responses to criticism were "beneath our national dignity," and that Clinton could heal the country's "rancor and incivility."

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The paper's endorsement quickly caught speed and made national headlines. The Arizona Republic is located in a conservative state, where Trump is currently polling ahead of Clinton by two percentage points. Though Trump is still currently expected to capture the state, the paper's endorsement may have a powerful ripple effect. 

Part of their endorsement was, predictably, a damning indictment of Donald Trump and his brand of Republicanism. The paper expressed their lack of confidence in Trump's conservatism. Voters who plan to vote for Trump solely on the basis of the Supreme Court, the paper said, should look elsewhere:

"Trump’s conversion to conservatism is recent and unconvincing. There is no guarantee he will name solid conservatives to the Supreme Court," the endorsement reads.

The Arizona Republic only briefly addressed Trump's political platform, and instead chose to attack what they saw as the candidate's deep character flaws that made him uniquely unfit to be president. Trump's comments about prisoners of war and Latino judges showed, as they said, "a stunning lack of human decency, empathy and respect." 

Still more groundbreaking was the paper's warm endorsement of Clinton itself. Choosing Clinton, the paper explained, wasn't just a lesser of two evils. The paper, while not exactly embracing the Democratic party platform, expressed confidence in Clinton's character, plan for immigration and vision for America.

"Clinton retains her composure under pressure. She’s tough. She doesn’t back down," the endorsement reads.

The paper's endorsement appears to be part of a growing trend of papers with otherwise conservative editorial boards who are now endorsing Clinton. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently broke their almost 100 year tradition to endorse Clinton, as did the Dallas Morning News.

While it's unclear just how sizable an impact these endorsements have, it's a big pickup for the Clinton campaign. You can read the full endorsement here.