Cote and Summers pick up newspaper endorsement

I'm not sure I would have predicted that Adam Cote would snag the endorsement from the Portland Press Herald -- the Charlie Summers endorsement, sure, but Cote?

After reading the endorsements, it seems possible that they might have been written by two different people. For Cote, the endorsement was all about fresh ideas, change and a new perspective, while for Summers it was a solid resume, traditional moderate republican views and plenty of experience.

Endorsements are difficult to pin point in terms of their impact on an election. It is believed that endorsements from newspapers are good for last minute fundraising and momentum. On the other hand, in Republican territory newspaper endorsements can often be spun rather quickly with words like "fish wrap" and "liberal rag". Democrats also have solid strategy of flooding the papers with letters to the editor, which some folks believe are more important than a single editorial.

There is no question that the meetings this week in the campaigns that did not receive the endorsements will be all about turn-out, phone banks, lit drops, absentee ballots and rides to the polls. Those are the factors that get votes and win elections.

At the end of the day, campaign fundamentals have a far greater impact on the election than any single endorsement ever will.