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With the 2020 campaign season basically locked up, I am getting quite nostalgic. But instead of going through the stories that I wrote that I'm most proud of (maybe later!), I wanted to instead share my favorite story from my colleagues on POLITICO's 2020 team
I am incredibly lucky to work with a lot of smart and talented reporters. I think we stack up against any other newsroom. But these are also genuinely good people that I was honored to work with. With apologies for a recency bias (this campaign season was long!), here we go:
There's a lot to say about POLITICO's Chief Florida Man @MarcACaputo. Nobody knows the Sunshine State better than him — nobody! That's all pretty well captured in this story on how Dems were rattled by Trump in Miami ... from September https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/08/trump-miami-florida-support-410362
It is hard to wrap up all of @hollyotterbein's reporting from Pennsylvania. Turns out, she nailed how incredibly important the state would be. But here's another great story: On how Bernie Sanders was the ultimate team player https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/06/bernie-sanders-democrats-2020-304277
. @ccadelago was out intrepid Kamala Harris chronicler. When her presidential campaign fell apart, he had the definitive story on it — which also laid out the early markers that now makes her vice president-elect https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/03/spectacular-collapse-kamala-harris-2020-074982
. @davidsiders is one of the most talented writers we have, being able to spin great narratives out of even the most mundane things. But the story of his that stuck with me the most is what Bernie's cabinet could've been. Great read, top to bottom https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/12/16/bernie-sanders-first-100-days-president-white-house-administration-084447
My dear friend @ec_schneider is one of the best reporters I know, and has been a rock for me professionally. Truly owe a lot to her. She also covered maybe the most unlikely campaign of all — Pete Buttigieg's — with expertise and precision https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/02/pete-buttigieg-campaign-2020-election-118573
. @lbarronlopez is always, always pushing the team to do better, and think about our messy and sometimes outdated priors. And turns out she really had her pulse on Arizona, too. Check the date on this story on how Arizona could flip ... March! https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/17/how-joe-biden-flips-arizona-134936
Easily one of the most interesting stories I read all year was from @natashakorecki, over the digital versus TV ad divide in the Democratic Party. And with a pandemic around the corner from this story, it was even more important! https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/31/iowa-caucus-2020-warren-buttigieg-ads-109153
Nobody covers money-in-politics better than @MaggieSeverns. She was stolen from our team at the onset of the pandemic, but I would very much like her back! Just one great story, on the big donors backing Warren, proves how interesting her reporting is https://www.politico.com/news/2019/11/18/big-democratic-donors-elizabeth-warren-2020-071333
My friend up north, @stephanie_murr, got to cover the most interesting primary of them all this year: Markey vs. Kennedy. If you read her reporting on the race, you knew how it'd end well before primary day actually arrived https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746
. @NolanDMcCaskill has a great talent for sniffing out stories that we all miss. One of the best examples of that is what he wrote in September on former felons who are having their right to vote restored https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/felon-votes-swing-2020-races-409495
There was a heck of a lot of doubt about Biden's campaign for basically ... all of it. @RyanLizza had the definitive look at the brain trust that would ultimately propel him to the presidency, all the way back when his nomination was no sure thing https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/12/19/biden-2020-campaign-president-advisers-087410
Getting to know @EugeneDaniels2 has been one of the absolute highlights of being on the 2020 team, truly. He's a multi-skilled threat: Videos, writing, hosting, you name it. Hard to pick against a video where he interviews his grandma, so I won't! https://www.politico.com/video/2020/02/28/south-carolina-primary-black-voters-069739
And @AlxThomp has had the pulse of just about every movement within the Democratic Party. His reporting on Warren and progressives is great, but his best work was on the relationship between 44 and, now, 46 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/14/obama-biden-relationship-393570
And @mayaaking was one of the best additions we made to the team this cycle. (And finally, someone who is my age!) Her coverage illuminates a blindspot that many newsrooms miss: Black voters. A great story from a Howard alum on the power of her university https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/19/kamala-harris-howard-university-398676
And of course, there is the POLITICO Campaigns team. My team! We don't skimp on downballot races. @sabrod123 only joined us recently, but she's been killing it and pulling double duty in Florida. If you read her stories, you know why Trump won there https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/florida-latinos-trump-election-429973
. @JamesArkin is probably the person who has to put up with my antics the most. That alone is a testament to him. But he's a great reporter who has written countless, detailed stories on the battle of the Senate. I loved this one on Arizona, in particular https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/01/mcsally-2020-arizona-kelly-118247
And last, but certainly not least, is @allymutnick. No reporter in the country knows the House campaign world than her. Here's one of her smartest stories, on how win-or-lose, Trump was here to stay in the House https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/19/trump-reshaping-gop-congress-398559
Not going to bother to try to pick the best writing from @POLITICOMag's @TimAlberta and @michaelkruse, because it is impossible to do. And the White House team — @politicoalex, @GabbyOrr_, @anitakumar01, @meridithmcgraw, @tina_nguyen, @nancook and @dlippman — were great partners
And of course there's the editors who hold us together: @mikezapler, @PoliticoScott, @PoliticoCharlie, @teresawiltz and @POLITICO_Steve. They don't get nearly enough credit, but there literally wouldn't be a team without them. (You can still blame them for headlines, though)
Anyway, I'm done being sappy. This was a wild cycle to cover, and I'm incredibly grateful that I got to do it with all these wonderful people. I'd truly stack us up against anybody else. And we aren't going away any time soon! Stick with us
