Fall 2026 Research Intern

Cook Political; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 21,000 - 30,000; Part time

Job summary

A political research organization located in Arlington is seeking research interns responsible for updating polling trackers, researching political candidates, and assisting with data aggregation. The role requires candidates to be pursuing a degree in Government or Political Science, with specific skills in data visualization and spreadsheets. Ideal candidates should demonstrate attention to detail and the ability to work independently. The internship is an in-person opportunity aimed at fulfilling academic requirements.

Qualifications

• Actively pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Government, Political Science, or a related field.
• Experienced with spreadsheets (Excel, Sheets, etc), data visualization, and digital publishing.
• Comfortable working independently.
• Possess excellent attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Updating internal and external polling trackers.
• Researching select House, Senate, and/or Governors candidates.
• Learning to create a FEC report & pull ad spending data.
• Assisting with historical research of past House, Senate, and Governors elections.
• Assisting an editor on a project with a deliverable.
• Supporting website content updates by searching for broken links and other errors.
• Learning the basics of HTML.
• Attending weekly staff meetings and other relevant calls.

Skills

Excel

Data visualization

Digital publishing

Attention to detail

Education

Pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Government or Political Science

Tools

Excel

Google Sheets

Data visualization tools

Job description

Arlington, United States | Posted on 03/02/2026

Research interns at The Cook Political Report are responsible for a mix of long-term projects and daily administrative tasks and are invited to attend meetings and any relevant virtual panels or press conferences.

Interns are responsible for:

Research

• Updating internal and external polling trackers.
• Researching select House, Senate and/or Governors candidates.
• Learning to create a FEC report & pull ad spending data.
• Assisting with historical research of past House, Senate and Governors elections.

Projects

• Assisting an editor on a project with a deliverable.

Writing and editing

• Supporting website content updates by searching for broken links and other errors on the website.
• Learning the basics of HTML.

Internal meetings

• Attending weekly staff meetings.
• A ttending meetings with the supervising editor/mentor.
• Attending any training calls with editors to support efforts on their weekly projects and tasks.

Requirements

This position is an in-person opportunity, developed for students who are applying for this position to fulfill an academic requirement. We occasionally have paid internship positions available as well.

Ideal candidates are:

• Actively pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Government, Political Science or a related field of study.
• Experienced with spreadsheets (Excel, Sheets, etc), data visualization and digital publishing.
• Comfortable working independently
• Possess excellent attention to detail

The Cook Political Report provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. In addition to federal law requirements, The Cook Political Report complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. Invincible Summer Media, Inc. expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status