National Journal is hiring a correspondent to cover state elections and election data for the Hotline.

National Journal is a premier editorial, research and insights company committed to helping organizations effectively navigate Washington. Best known as one of Washington’s most trusted media brands for more than 50 years, our expertise is unmatched with teams of specialists dedicated to government affairs, communications, and political research, in addition to exceptional journalism. Our mission is to equip the thousands of government and business leaders in the nation’s capital with the intelligence, insights, and connections they need to save time, increase efficiency, and deliver success.

The Role:

National Journal has an immediate opening for a journalist to cover state politics, campaigns and contribute to a collaborative analytical team. 

The successful candidate will report to Hotline’s editor.

Responsibilities will include:

• Aggregating and analyzing campaign and elections news for the two morning Hotline newsletters, with a special focus on the 2025 state races, state parties, legislative trends, and gubernatorial races

• Uncovering statistical trends in data from polls, financial disclosures, and ad reservations via AI/web scraping as well as traditional research methods

• Developing and reporting longer feature stories on campaigns and elections for National Journal Daily

• Cultivating sources at the national and state level

• Contributing to podcasts, webinars, and other audience engagement efforts for NJ subscribers

Qualifications of the ideal candidate:

• Knowledge of state politics and a voracious appetite for political news

• Unrivaled news judgment, including the ability to select the best source on a given story, and to spot broader trends across stories

• Ability to develop and maintain key sources in battleground states, campaigns, consultants, and academia

• Deft, clear, and clean writing

• Basic knowledge of and comfort with AI research practices, as well as the ethical constraints around using AI in journalism. Some knowledge of web-scraping software like Python is considered a plus.

• Early riser who is adaptable to irregular hours

• A commitment to nonpartisan, non-ideological reporting and writing

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university

Application Materials: Cover letter, resume, writing sample or 2 clips

Employment Type: Full-time

Compensation: The salary range for this role is $52,000-$58,000 

Location: This job is based in Washington, DC. National Journal operates on a hybrid schedule, with employees required to be in the office every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

About Us

Across National Journal Group, generally, the firm looks for two “pillar gifts” in you, and everyone else.  In all of us, these are more aspirational than actual, but they are central in our intentions –

• Force of Ideas:  At the center of National Journal Group work are the ideas within our writing.  We believe that ideas – to the good and not – have consequences.  Our highest work is bringing rigor, insight, intellectual honesty, to that ultimate purpose of separating the bad from the good, and giving voice to the latter.

• Spirit of Generosity:  National Journal Group seeks in its ranks a spirit of generosity – a natural disposition in each colleague toward service and selfless conduct.  National Journal Group writing should be cut from the same cloth –critical on the merits but informed by charity and forbearance in measuring motive and personal character.

National Journal is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against our applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.