Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio scored a highly coveted endorsement from The Des Moines Register, the largest and influential newspaper in Iowa.

The endorsement was made Saturday, just a little over a week before the Iowa caucuses kick off the primary elections on Feb. 1.

Although neither Clinton nor Rubio are projected to win the Iowa caucuses in recent polls, the newspaper proclaimed that each candidate would be the best nominee in their respective parties. The paper also said that it is backing the candidates because each offers qualities that their rivals lack: for Clinton, it was her political longevity and expertise, and for Rubio, it was his ideas and potential.

"Democrats have one outstanding candidate deserving of their support: Hillary Clinton," the Register editorial board wrote. "No other candidate can match the depth and breadth of her knowledge and experience."

The paper also upheld the former secretary of state as a well-qualified candidate of "pragmatism," while dismissing Democratic presidential rival Bernie Sanders as a candidate of "lofty idealism."

"For some, this will be a choice of whether to vote with their hearts or their heads," wrote the prominent paper.

"Clinton has demonstrated that she is a thoughtful, hardworking public servant who has earned the respect of leaders at home and abroad. She stands ready to take on the most demanding job in the world."

In another editorial about Rubio, the newspaper said the "whip smart" Florida senator has the potential to "chart a new direction for the Republican Party.

"Republicans have the opportunity to define their party's future in this election. They could choose anger, pessimism and fear. Or they could take a different path," the board wrote about Rubio, who is currently polling in third place in Iowa behind Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. "The party could channel that frustration and pursue true reform. It could renounce its fealty to the economic elite and its fixation with tax cuts for the wealthy."

Although the paper acknowledged that he faces questions over his experience and ability to unite the party, it maintained that he offers "an uplifting message 'of a new American century.'"

Politics strategists, however, say that being endorsed by the paper might actually backfire on Rubio since his rivals could argue that he has ties to a mainstream media outlet with a moderate-to-liberal slant.

"The Register's endorsement is like being endorsed by The Washington Post or NY Times, if you're a conservative," said former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, reports Politico. "For Trump and Cruz it will give them a chance to sound off - to diminish any potential positive impact the endorsement could have - against the 'establishment' endorsing one of their own. In short, it's like a car accident: 'Move along, nothing to see here.'"

Meanwhile, El Latino, one of the most widely read Spanish-language publications in Iowa, endorsed Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley for president over the weekend. According to the newspaper, the former Maryland governor is "the most pro-Latino and pro-immigrant candidate in the history of this country."

In an editorial, the paper also wrote that O'Malley "was the first one to put forward the boldest and most humane immigration plan in this race. He was also the first one to call for an end to the mindless deportations that are separating our community."