The "Wisconsin State Journal" vociferously supported McCarthy throughout his political career, consistently defending his methods and attacking his detractors. The "State Journal" endorsed McCarthy every time he ran for state-wide office, five times in all, including three Republican primaries. The first time was in 1944, when McCarthy was little-known and challenged incumbent Republican Senator Alexander Wiley in the Republican primary. The "State Journal" was one of four papers to endorse McCarthy that year, the only one outside his home base in the Appleton area. Setting the tone for later endorsements, the 1944 introduction was an effusive, admiring portrait taking up the better part of an entire page with two pictures and an account from McCarthy himself, trumpeting the "Tail-Gunner Joe" myth propagated by McCarthy based on a "commendation" he almost certainly forged.