Politics Editor

G0549 Politico LLC; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

POLITICO is seeking a Politics Editor based in Arlington, VA, to lead our national political coverage for the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential cycle. You will supervise a talented team of reporters and work closely with editors across the newsroom to produce high-impact journalism.

You will partner with data, graphics and polling teams to tell stories in innovative, visually compelling ways, shaping coverage that defines the political moment and informs readers across platforms.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading or editing political coverage at a major news organization.
• A deep understanding of the American political landscape and the players, power structures and narratives that define it.
• A sharp eye for both breaking news and ambitious enterprise journalism.
• A collaborative leader who thrives in a team environment and loves helping reporters do the best work of their careers.
• Strong editing, story-shaping and project management skills.
• Creativity and a competitive drive.

Responsibilities

• Shape and drive POLITICO’s national political coverage, focusing on the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election.
• Edit and coach a team of ambitious reporters to deliver scoops, sharp analysis and conversation-driving enterprise stories.
• Champion a thematic approach to coverage — moving beyond campaign-trail horse races to illuminate the deeper cultural, ideological and economic forces driving U.S. politics.
• Collaborate across the newsroom to ensure our political coverage is cohesive, innovative and distinctive.
• Partner with POLITICO’s data, graphics and polling teams to tell stories in creative and visually compelling ways.
• Shepherd a drumbeat of coverage that mixes incremental exclusives with big-picture storytelling that defines the political moment.

Job description

POLITICO is looking for a Politics Editor to help lead our agenda-setting coverage of the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign — two of the most consequential political cycles of our time. This editor will share supervision of a talented team of reporters and work in close collaboration with editors across the newsroom — including the White House, Congress, policy, states and Playbook teams — to produce high-impact journalism across all platforms. The editor will also work with our polling and interactives teams to find innovative ways to use campaign finance data and other tools to capture the mood of Republican and Democratic donors, voters and operatives shaping the future of both parties.

Who You Are:

• The right candidate is fiercely competitive, thrives in a fast-paced environment and has an unrelenting desire to break news.
• You’ll bring a bottomless well of creative story ideas, and the vision to turn our political reporting into the most authoritative and engaging coverage in American journalism.

What You’ll Do:

• Shape and drive POLITICO’s national political coverage, focusing on the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential election.
• Edit and coach a team of ambitious reporters to deliver scoops, sharp analysis and conversation-driving enterprise stories.
• Champion a thematic approach to coverage — moving beyond campaign-trail horse races to illuminate the deeper cultural, ideological and economic forces driving U.S. politics.
• Collaborate across the newsroom to ensure our political coverage is cohesive, innovative and distinctive.
• Partner with POLITICO’s data, graphics and polling teams to tell stories in creative and visually compelling ways.
• Shepherd a drumbeat of coverage that mixes incremental exclusives with big-picture storytelling that defines the political moment.

What You’ll Need:

• Proven experience leading or editing political coverage at a major news organization.
• A deep understanding of the American political landscape and the players, power structures and narratives that define it.
• A sharp eye for both breaking news and ambitious enterprise journalism.
• A collaborative leader who thrives in a team environment and loves helping reporters do the best work of their careers.
• Strong editing, story-shaping and project management skills.
• Creativity and a competitive drive.

This role is based in our Arlington, VA HQ.

We value our people.

COMPENSATION:

$140,000-$170,000 Annual Base. The final salary offered will be based on factors including relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.

About Us.

POLITICO illuminates the forces shaping global power. Since 2007, we have delivered intelligence that anticipates tomorrow's headlines, not reports on yesterday's news. As politics has increasingly become the defining force of our era, our work has never been more vital. Cabinet secretaries and Ministers start their mornings with our analysis. CEOs shape strategy around our reporting. Advocacy leaders rely on our insights to move policy. We deliver the straightforward facts and clear-eyed analysis they need to navigate the most complex political landscape of our lifetimes.

Our 1,100+ publishing professionals across the world's key democratic capitals—Washington, Brussels, London, Paris, Berlin, Sacramento, and New York—form the world's premier politics and policy newsroom. We tell the story of how power really works by explaining who wields it and how they plan to exercise it, connecting dots others miss and delivering scoops from sources others don't even know exist.

Innovation has always been a core tenet of our story. At launch, we bet that depth would trump scale, that talent would trump traffic, and that politics would become central to modern life. In 2011, we made another bet and launched POLITICO Pro to help decision-makers understand the business of government, transforming both how they shape government action and the business of journalism itself. These bets have made POLITICO the most successful digital news startup of its generation and the indispensable resource for leaders who shape the future.

Today, we are a rarity in media: a growing, profitable, and sustainable news organization. POLITICO is a subsidiary of Axel Springer SE, a family-owned transatlantic media company headquartered in Berlin and New York. Axel Springer is dedicated to shaping the future of journalism in the free world, believing that a free and informed society is essential to democracy. Learn more about Axel Springer.

POLITICO's mission from the very beginning was to win the audience. We dedicate ourselves to providing accurate, non-partisan, impactful information to the right people at the right time so they can act with confidence and speed. We serve, better understand, and grow our influential audience by creating innovative products and tools that provide limitless value across the globe.