NEW YORK Sen. John Kerry continued his raid on newspapers that backed President Bush in 2000, grabbing 24 new "flip-flops," plus The Washington Post, which was a major supporter of the war in Iraq. The Democrat has now won endorsements from at least 35 papers that went for Bush in 2000, while Bush has earned only two Gore papers.

However, Bush got a prize in the key state of Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch.

Kerry now leads Bush 125-96 in endorsements in E&P's exclusive tally, and he leads by about 16 million to 10 million in the circulation of backing papers.

And more setbacks for Bush: The Detroit News, which has never endorsed a Democrat, and which backed Bush in 2000, announced that it would sit out the 2004 election, not happy with either candidate. The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, another Bush backer in 2000, said the same thing today in an editorial titled "No One to Champion." A third Bush supporter in 2000, The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., also declared neutrality today.

The Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel and The Commercial-Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., were among the 24 papers that backed Bush in 2000 but today chose Kerry.

For his part, Bush gained the key Columbus, Ohio, paper. In its editorial, the Dispatch said it was "less than enthused about the choices." It said it was troubled by Bush's fiscal policies and the war in Iraq but said that neither Kerry's Senate record nor "his shifting positions during the presidential campaign inspire confidence that he would provide the strong, resolute leadership America desperately needs."

Bush also picked up the Houston Chronicle and Denver Post, the latter in a switch from Gore in 2000. William Dean Singleton, now the publisher of that paper, is known as a strong Bush supporter. His MediaNews Group also owns the Daily News in Los Angeles, which Singleton allowed to go for Kerry.

In addition to those already mentioned, Kerry today grabbed 20 other papers from the Bush 2000 column, with the endorsement of the Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call; the Stamford (Ct.) Advocate; the Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.); the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa; The Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star; the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times and the Santa Cruz Sentinel in California; the Idaho Statesman (Boise); Iowa City Press-Citizen; Worcester (Ma.) Telegram & Gazette; the Flint (Mich.) Journal; the Star-Gazette in Elmira, N.Y.; the Ventura County (Ca.) Star; the Tri-City Herald (Kennewick) and The Sun (Bremerton) in Washington; the Wausau (Wi.) Daily Herald; the Billings (Mt.) Gazette; Walla Walla (Wa.) Union-Bulletin; and the Bangor (Maine) Daily News.

The Daily News in New York appeared to endorse Kerry today but it was hard to tell: The paper did nothing but bash Bush for several paragraphs without once mentioning his opponent's name.

Meanwhile, E&P has learned from several sources at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland that the paper's nine-person editorial board decided earlier this week that it wanted to endorse Kerry, but Publisher Alex Machaskee, who has final say, has decided on Bush. The paper backed Bush in 2000.

This has caused consternation in some quarters at the Plain Dealer, with sources telling E&P that the endorsement editorial, which was expected to run Sunday, was put off. One editor told E&P that some at the paper at pushing for, at least, a dissenting pro-Kerry column.

OTHER KERRY PICKUPS ON SUNDAY INCLUDED: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Centre Daily Times in hotly contested Pennsylvania; The Bergen Record and The Star-Ledger (Newark) in New Jersey; the Toledo Blade in Ohio; the Raleigh News & Observer and Asheville Citizen Times in North Carolina; Newsday, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the Buffalo News and Glens Falls Post-Star in New York; the Des Moines (Iowa) Register; Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal; the Daily Southtown in Illinois; Hampton Roads (Va.)Daily Press; the Nashville Tennesean; Santa Fe New Mexican; The Shreveport (La.) TImes; the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph; the Portsmouth Herald and Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire.

BUSH BACKING: Bush, however, retained the Austin American-Statesman and Houston Chronicle in his home Texas; the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post; the Hartford (Ct.) Courant; Long Beach (Ca.) Press-Telegram; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal-Star; the Express-Times of Easton, Pa.; Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, The Oklahoman, and the Fargo (N.D.) Forum.

Special thanks to Teresa LaLoggia and dozens of others for sending along the latest endorsements.

Here is our updated chart, state by state, including new arrivals from Sunday. You will find many circulation numbers and an indication of who the paper backed in 2000, Bush or Gore (if we know it). However, for papers that endorsed this weekend, we have not yet entered circulation figures. This will be done Monday.

JOHN KERRY

ALABAMA
The Anniston Star (G): 26,527
Decatur Daily (G)

ARIZONA
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) (G): 109,592

CALIFORNIA
San Francisco Chronicle (G): 501,135
The Sacramento Bee (G): 303,841
San Jose Mercury News (G): 279,539
The Fresno Bee (G): 166,531
The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa) (G): 89,384
The Modesto Bee (G): 87,366
Merced Sun-Star: 17,247
Los Angeles Daily News (B)
Contra Costa Times (B)
Ventura County Star (B)
Santa Cruz Sentinel (B)
Oakland Tribune (B)

COLORADO
Daily Camera (Boulder) (B): 33,419
The Coloradoan (Ft. Collins)
Durango Herald

CONNECTICUT
The Day (New London) (B): 39,553
Stamford Advocate (B)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Post

FLORIDA
St. Petersburg Times (G): 358,502
The Miami Herald (G): 325,032
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) (G): 268,927
The Palm Beach Post (G): 181,727
Daytona Beach News-Journal (G): 112,945
Florida Today (Melbourne) (G): 90,877
Bradenton Herald (B): 52,163
Orlando Sentinel (B)
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (G)

GEORGIA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 418,323
Macon Telegraph

HAWAII
The Honolulu Advertiser (G): 145,943

IDAHO
Idaho Statesman (B)

ILLINOIS
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) (B): 150,794
Chicago Sun-Times (B)
Rockford Register-Star (B)
Daily Southtown

INDIANA
The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) (G): 61,205

IOWA
The Hawk Eye (Burlington) (G): 19,000
Quad City Times (Davenport) (B):
Iowa City Pres-Citizen
Des Moines Register (G)

KANSAS
Hutchinson News

KENTUCKY
Lexington Herald-Leader (G): 122,748
Louisville Courier-Journal (G)

LOUISIANA
Shreveport Times

MAINE
Portland Press Herald (G): 73,211
Bangor Daily News (B)
Kennebec Journal

MASSACHUSETTS
The Boston Globe (G): 452,109
The Standard-Times (New Bedford): 35,299
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (B):
The Republican

MICHIGAN
Detroit Free Press (G): 354,581
The Muskegon Chronicle (B): 46,505
Battle Creek Enquirer: 24,831
The Argus-Press (Owosso): 11,438
Lansing State Journal
Flint Journal (B)

MINNESOTA
Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (G): 377,058
Duluth News Tribune: 45,688
The Free Press (Mankato): 21,591

MISSOURI
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (G): 281,198
The Kansas City Star (G): 269,188
Columbia Daily Tribune (B): 18,874

MONTANA
Billings Gazette (B)

NEVADA
Nevada Appeal (Carson City): 15,296
Las Vegas Sun (G)
Reno Gazette-Journal

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord Monitor (G): 19,984
Portsmouth Herald
Nashua Telegraph

NEW JERSEY
The Record (Bergen County) (G)
Star-Ledger (Newark) (G)
The Times (Trenton)
Gloucester County Times
Courier-Journal

NEW MEXICO
The Albuquerque Tribune (B): 13,536
Santa Fe New Mexican (G)
Farmington Daily Times

NEW YORK
The New York Times (G): 1,133,763
Newsday (G)
The Journal-News (White Plains) (B)
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (G)
Buffalo News (G)
Glens Falls Post-Star
Star-Gazette (Elmira) (B)

NORTH CAROLINA
The Charlotte Observer (G): 231,369
The Daily Reflector (Greenville): 25,777
Raleigh News & Observer (G)
Asheville Citizen-Times

NORTH DAKOTA
Grand Forks Herald (G): 32,385
Bismarck Tribune

OHIO
Dayton Daily News (G): 183,175
Akron Beacon Journal (G): 139,220
Toledo Blade (G)

OREGON
The Oregonian (Portland) (B): 342,040
Mail Tribune (Medford): 35,524
The Register-Guard (Eugene) (G): 72,411
Statesman Journal (Salem): 56,298
East Oregonian (Pendleton): 10,236
The Daily Astorian (Astoria): 8,429

PENNSYLVANIA
The Philadelphia Inquirer (G): 387,692
The Philadelphia Daily News (G): 139,983
Allentown Morning-Call (B)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (G)
Centre Daily Times

TENNESSEE
The Jackson Sun (G): 35,561
Memphis Commercial-Appeal (B)
The Tennessean (Nashville)

TEXAS
Waco Tribune-Herald
Lufkin Daily News

VIRGINIA
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk) (G): 201,473
The Roanoke Times: 100,447
Hampton Roads Daily Press

WASHINGTON
The Seattle Times (B): 237,303
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (G): 150,901
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (B)
The Sun (Bremerton) (B)
Tri-City Herald (B)

WISCONSIN
Wausau Daily Herald (B)
The Journal Times (Racine)

WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Gazette (G): 49,529

GEORGE W. BUSH

ALABAMA
Mobile Register (B): 100,244
Birmigham News

ARIZONA
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) (B): 466,926

ARKANSAS
Southwest Times Record (Fort Smith) (B): 37,636
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (B)

CALIFORNIA
The San Diego Union-Tribune (B): 361,317
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside): 191,802
The Record (Stockton) (B): 62,139
The Reporter (Vacaville) (B): 18,227
Long Beach Press-Telegram
The Bakersfield Californian

COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (B): 286,004
The Pueblo Chieftain: 52,208
Daily Times-Call (Longmont): 21,465
Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald: 17,548
Daily Record (Canon City): 8,164
Denver Post (G)

CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Washington Times (B): 100,228

FLORIDA
The Ledger (Lakeland)
Ocala Star-Banner

GEORGIA
Savannah Morning News (B): 57,288
Augusta Chronicle

ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune (B): 578,843
The Pantagraph (Bloomington) (B): 47,931
The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana): 39,190
Freeport Journal-Standard
Springfield State Journal-Register
Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale)

INDIANA
The Indianapolis Star (B): 253,778
Evansville Courier-Press

IOWA
Globe-Gazette (Mason City): 18,947
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Sioux City Journal

KENTUCKY
Bowling Green Daily News

MARYLAND
Easton Star-Democrat

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Herald (B): 248,988
The Sun (Lowell) (B): 50,369

MICHIGAN
The Grand Rapids Press (B): 139,216
The Oakland Press (Pontiac): 65,484
Herald Palladium (St. Joseph)
Macomb Daily
Midland Daily Newes

NEBRASKA
Omaha World-Herald (B): 197,627
Lincoln Journal-Star

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press

NEVADA
Las Vegas Review-Journal (B): 170,061

NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Union Leader (Manchester) (B): 59,605
Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover): 22,995

NEW MEXICO
Carlsbad Current-Argus (B): 8,030
Las Cruces Sun-News (B): 22,168

NEW YORK
New York Post (B): 678,012
The New York Sun: 18,000

NORTH CAROLINA
The Enterprise-Record (Mocksville)

NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo Forum

OHIO
The Repository (Canton) (B): 66,014
The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia): 23,956
The Courier (Findlay) (B): 22,319
The Advocate (Newark): 22,217
Columbus Dispatch (B)
Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Post

OKLAHOMA
Tulsa World (B): 139,383
The Oklahoman

OREGON
The News-Review (Roseburg): 19,272
Daily Courier (Grants Pass): 16,392

PENNSYLVANIA
York Daily Record (G): 46,554
The Express-Times (Easton)
Altoona Mirror

SOUTH CAROLINA
Spartanburg Herald-Journal

SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

TENNESSEE
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville): 22,057

TEXAS
The Dallas Morning News (B): 546,177
San Antonio Express-News (B): 252,889
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (B): 247,167
El Paso Times: 74,278
Amarillo Globe-News (B): 51,105
Houston Chronicle (B)
Austin American-Statesman

UTAH
Salt Lake Tribune

VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch (B): 191,732
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg) (B): 47,866
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg)
Danvile Bee
News Advance (Lynchburg)

WASHINGTON
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane) (B): 100,760
The Columbian (Vancouver) (B): 51,498
The Chronicle (Centralia)

WEST VIRGINIA
Charleston Daily Mail (B): 34,539
The Intelligencer (Wheeling): 20,689
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Parkersburg News

WISCONSIN
Oshkosh Northwestern (B): 21,748
The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls) (B): 6,804

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