CNN

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) – Republican presidential candidate John McCain received an endorsement Sunday from The Portsmouth Herald, his second from a major New Hampshire paper.

The Herald’s backing is the third significant editorial endorsement the Arizona senator received this weekend, along with nods from The Boston Globe and The Des Moines Register. He won the support of the Granite State's largest and most influential newspaper, The New Hampshire Union Leader, in early December.

"U.S. Sen. John McCain will tell you the truth, even if it costs him the election," the Portsmouth Herald editorial board wrote Sunday.

The paper praised McCain as a “man of integrity and honor” and “a strong military man prepared from day one to defend our nation against its enemies… Of all the Republicans running, he is by far the best qualified to lead our country.”

McCain, whose campaign has wagered much on a strong showing in the Granite State, is scheduled to spend the next four days campaigning in New Hampshire, where voters head to the polls January 8. He won the state’s GOP primary during his 2000 presidential run.

–CNN New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla