US Sen. Ted Cruz cannot count on the support of four of Texas’s largest newspapers, as the Dallas Morning News this past weekend joined the three other media giants in backing US Rep. Coln Allred in the men’s fight for Cruz’s Senate seat.

I know what many of you might be thinking: Is this a big … deal, given newspapers’ dismal standing these days of media-hating?

I’ll hold onto the notion that it kind of is a big deal. But you have to read what the newspaper editorials are saying.

The DMN joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News in backing Allred over Cruz.

The Morning News noted: Cruz “could have supported the peaceful transfer of power in the 2020 presidential election,” it said. “He instead was the first senator to rise in objection to certifying the electoral vote and one of just six to do so. His actions were a catalyst for what became one of the worst days in our nation’s history.”

I might just toss this endorsement off as a home-town guy winning favor from his local newspaper. Except that Cruz now calls Houston home and the Chronicle went with his opponent.

I am acutely aware that newspaper editorial pages no longer possess the clout they once had. Readers are far less inclined to be influenced by high-falutin’ newspaper editors and publishers. I used to make endorsements as part of my job as an opinion journalist over the course of my print journalism career.

Moreover, I am far from high-falutin’. So, there’s that.

I did my homework when our endorsement season rolled around.  I considered myself to be reasonably well-informed on the candidates, their policies and whether they would be a good fit for the office they sought. My friends at the DMN know their way around the public policy pea patch.

Therefore, I am going to heed their words carefully.