Well, finally, the Arizona Daily Star (which has the largest newspaper circulation in Tucson) endorsed Attorney General Terry Goddard (D) for Governor today:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_d4649b3f-2831-5da4-9fb0-54bbb0e7c7f3.html

and incumbent Ken Bennett (R) for Secretary of State (who takes over should the Governor resign or leave office):
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_4213e38c-ca88-5e44-983e-09cec7885d0d.html

They also endorsed for U.S. Senate incumbent John McCain (R) today:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_6b670cb4-20f2-57b6-9f29-c51cfcb42434.html

And for the Congressional seats in Southern Arizona, incumbent Gabrielle Giffords (D) for House CD 8:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_6036f82e-eea6-50c6-85b0-ab7e74d7ca98.html

and incumbent Congressman Raul Grijalva (D) for CD 7:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_4167e7b8-c9ae-5016-aafd-98b99e98b7f5.html

Incumbency does seem to matter in these top races.

I wrote a previous blog about Tucson newspaper endorsements for state-wide offices (click here).

Recap of Star’s previous endorsements: Felecia Rotellini (D) for Attorney General, Doug Ducey (R) for Treasurer, Penny Kotterman (D) for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and incumbent Gary Pierce (R) & Brenda Burns (R) for Corporation Commission (2 seats). The only incumbent in these races is Pierce.

Reminder — The Tucson Weekly (10/7/10 issue) endorsed all Democrats except for U.S.Senate (no recommendation).

Vote wisely on or before November 2nd.

I’m in suspense. Whom will the Arizona Daily Star endorse for Governor and the #2 seat, Secretary of State? So far they have endorsed (with early voting starting on October 7, for the November 2 General Election):

Gary Pierce (R) and Brenda Burns (R) for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats open) on October 13: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_1c98e870-14c6-5795-9287-070dd6fa1cf2.html

Penny Kotterman (D) for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction on October 12:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_edaa04de-b0ef-523a-b520-678f9d8e35db.html

Felecia Rotellini (D) for Arizona Attorney General on October 8:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_f898585e-6828-53d7-9da3-1ad5a9dfa8dc.html

Doug Ducey (R) for Arizona Treasurer on October 7:
http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_75948a60-023a-544d-853a-a441cc62733a.html

The Tucson Weekly (October 7 issue) has endorsed Democrats in almost all offices, except for “No Recommendation” in the U.S. Senate race, and none (oversight?) in LD 29 (currently represented by Democrats State Senator Linda Lopez, Rep. Matt Heinz & Daniel Patterson, all running for re-election, but there is a House seat challenger).

Click here, or views pages 18-21 of the October 7, 2010 issue of The Tucson Weekly. They did issue a disclaimer of sorts — “We decided not to make endorsements in some races, either because the result is not really in question, or we didn’t feel we had enough information to make a recommendation.”

We “citizen journalists” at the Tucsoncitizen.com may or may not endorse candidates, so you could check with the respective bloggers & Editor covering Politics & Government. Progressive & popular blogger “3 Sonorans” (David Morales) has already issued his Voter Guide to the candidates & propositions (click here.)

I’m not so sure whether voters follow endorsements of newspaper editorial boards, especially in Arizona where there are so many “Other/Independent” voters. But refer back to this blog once the General Election on November 2nd is over, to see whether these endorsements were influential enough to affect the final tallies.

And I’ll post updates if/when the daily Arizona Daily Star endorses for the two top highest seats in the State of Arizona.

Predictions, anyone?

UPDATE: On October 24 the Arizona Daily Star endorsed Terry Goddard and Ken Bennett, in answer to my question on top:
http://tucsoncitizen.com/community/2010/10/24/az-daily-star-endorses-for-goddard-for-governor-mccain-for-u-s-senate/

Online right now is a reader poll by the Arizona Capitol Times, “Your Inside Track to Arizona Politics”:

“Most polls show Attorney General Terry Goddard lagging behind Gov. Jan Brewer by double digits in the governor’s race. Can Goddard close the gap by Nov. 2?” (dated 9/28/10, 330 votes so far). Vote now or see online results by checking their website & scrolling down on the left of the homepage, http://azcapitoltimes.com/.

Past polls from their archives:

“Which statewide Democratic candidate has the best shot at winning on Nov. 2?”
–Felecia Rotellini, attorney general’s race (44%, 148 Votes of 339 votes)

“Who will be the next Senate president?”
–Sen. Steve Pierce (42%, 171 Votes of 408 votes)
–Sen. Russell Pearce (31%, 127 Votes)

“Who is the most vulnerable Democratic member of AZ’s congressional delegation?”
–Harry Mitchell (34%, 121 Votes of 361 votes)
–Ann Kirkpatrick (29%, 104 Votes)

Which primary race was the biggest surprise?
— CD3 (R) – Quayle beats field of 10 (40%, 188 Votes of 473 votes)

“Which Republican will win the primary race for state treasurer?”
– Doug Ducey (42%, 171 Votes of 403 votes)

Some of these polls were accurate (State Treasurer one, which was surprising as all 3 opponents had state legislative experience and Ducey is a political newcomer). And of course the Ben Qualye win was another surprise by a political newcomer, though son of former U.S. Vice President Dan Qualye.

Wait for November 2nd for some of the results for these other polls, or thereafter for the Arizona State Senate President vote. I’m not much of a believer in political polls, but they do indicate some trends. Readers, do you agree with these poll results?

For other interesting political polls from their archives click here.