Fall 2026 Political Internship

SKDKnickerbocker; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 24,796 - 27,552; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hourly wage $18.40 per hour

Paid internship

Office flexibility

Job summary

SKDKnickerbocker offers a paid internship on its political team with offices in DC, NYC, Albany, and LA. Interns will monitor news, research candidates, track spending, and assist with decks, pitches, and copyediting while balancing independent work and collaboration.

Ideal candidates are driven self-starters with strong writing and research skills, capable of meeting tight deadlines and managing multiple projects in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have full-time availability, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, with three days in office.
• Self-starter who can work independently and manage tasks remotely.
• Interest in campaigns and politics, including communications, Democratic politics, media, advertising, digital work, social media, research, or related fields.
• Excellent organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.
• Strong research, writing, and editing skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects and the ability to handle deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Daily news clips monitoring and ad tracking.
• Researching candidate and opposition background in key districts.
• Maintaining overviews of key competitive race landscapes.
• Tracking campaign finance spending and reporting.
• Building decks and working on pitches.
• Writing and proofreading persuasive ad copy, memos and emails.
• Organizing and maintaining records on scripts, ads, research and polling, and invoices.
• Digesting qualitative and quantitative message research and making recommendations on tone and content.
• Learning new material quickly and communicating complex subject matter clearly.
• Copyediting and proofreading written materials to align with message imperatives, tone and AP Style.
• Staffing video shoots when available.

Skills

Research

Writing

Editing

Organization

Time management

Detail-oriented

Job description

Overview

SKDK, an award-winning public affairs and political advertising agency, is seeking interns to join its political team for a paid internship. With offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, Albany, and Los Angeles, SKDK brings unparalleled strategic communications experience to Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, labor unions, political committees, and candidates.

Whether it is creating a campaign launch video for a candidate, assisting a corporate client on establishing messaging around their corporate social responsibility strategy, or guiding a nonprofit through a crisis, SKDK is always at the forefront, leading the charge. There is no company better that understands the intersection of press, politics, and policy. At SKDK, we are made whole by the diversity of our team. We are a firm that invites and celebrates the uniqueness of each member of our team and encourages individuals to bring their best selves into the workplace.

Whether it is through participation in one of our Employee Resource Groups, serving on our DEI Council, opportunities to volunteer, or bringing a new perspective to client work, your individuality and experience matters. Political team interns work on a wide range of fast-paced Democratic candidate and issue advocacy clients.

Ideal candidates are driven, self-starters with the ability to grasp complex subject matter quickly and work well within teams.

Responsibilities

• Daily news clips monitoring and ad tracking.
• Researching candidate and opposition background in key districts.
• Maintaining overviews of key competitive race landscapes.
• Tracking campaign finance spending and reporting.
• Building decks and working on pitches.
• Writing and proofreading persuasive ad copy, memos and emails.
• Organizing and maintaining records on scripts, ads, research and polling, and invoices.
• Digesting qualitative and quantitative message research and making recommendations on tone and content.
• Learning new material quickly and communicating complex subject matter in understandable language.
• Copyediting and proofreading written materials to align with message imperatives, tone and clarity and AP Style.
• Staffing video shoots when available.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have full-time availability, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, with three days in office.
• Self-starter who can work independently and manage tasks remotely.
• Interest in and knowledge of campaigns and politics, including communications, Democratic politics, media, advertising, digital work, social media, research, or other related fields.
• Excellent organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.
• Strong research, writing, and editing skills.
• Experience managing multiple projects and the ability to handle competing deadlines.
• Ability to adapt and respond quickly to changing landscapes and to work well under pressure and deadlines.
• Previous relevant experience in writing and political or communications-intensive positions or internships

Benefits

SKDK is committed to pay equity. SKDK offers a wage of $18.40 per hour.

Equal Opportunities

SKDK is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse workforce. It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any protected category.