Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (October 16, 2026)

Newspaper endorsements can carry significant weight during an election season.

But how does a newsroom decide which candidates deserve its support? At the Houston Chronicle, the endorsement process involves evaluating candidates, examining their positions on the issues, and considering what they would bring to public office.

But how are those decisions made? Who gets a seat at the table? And what really goes into choosing one candidate over another? Joining us to explain how the process works at the Houston Chronicle is Opinion and Community Engagement Editor, Evan Mintz.

Evan, I am so glad you are here on Hello Houston today.

Welcome.

Well, I'm so happy to be here.

Thank you for inviting me.

We're very excited.

We talk a lot about politics.

We talk a lot about candidates.

We talk a lot about the system and the process.

And the one thing I don't think in all 30 years I've been doing this, I've ever had someone explain to me how endorsements are made within organizations like the Chronicle.

And it wasn't until I knew you were coming that I started thinking about it.

I don't have any idea how they do this.

I assume you interview candidates and you get together and you just decide.

But then I think about all the different pressures, all the different biases, all the different.

So take it away.

What do we need to know?

Well, first, let me clarify.

These are endorsements from the editorial board.

So we have an opinion section and we have a newsroom and we are separate operations literally in the building.

We are down on the first floor.

All the reporters are up on the fourth floor.

We don't do a lot of interaction.

And so our process begins back in December of last year.

Newspaper endorsements can carry significant weight during an election season.

But how does a newsroom decide which candidates deserve its support? At the Houston Chronicle, the endorsement process involves evaluating candidates, examining their positions on the issues, and considering what they would bring to public office.

But how are those decisions made? Who gets a seat at the table? And what really goes into choosing one candidate over another? Joining us to explain how the process works at the Houston Chronicle is Opinion and Community Engagement Editor, Evan Mintz.

Evan, I am so glad you are here on Hello Houston today.

Welcome.

Well, I'm so happy to be here.

Thank you for inviting me.

We're very excited.

We talk a lot about politics.

We talk a lot about candidates.

We talk a lot about the system and the process.

And the one thing I don't think in all 30 years I've been doing this, I've ever had someone explain to me how endorsements are made within organizations like the Chronicle.

And it wasn't until I knew you were coming that I started thinking about it.

I don't have any idea how they do this.

I assume you interview candidates and you get together and you just decide.

But then I think about all the different pressures, all the different biases, all the different.

So take it away.

What do we need to know?

Well, first, let me clarify.

These are endorsements from the editorial board.

So we have an opinion section and we have a newsroom and we are separate operations literally in the building.

We are down on the first floor.

All the reporters are up on the fourth floor.

We don't do a lot of interaction.

And so our process begins back in December of last year.