Job Description:

POLITICO is seeking an enterprising, collaborative and scoop-driven journalist to cover the New Jersey Statehouse. We want someone who can tease out details of backroom deal-making and quickly deliver revelatory and colorful stories that will be required reading for the most influential people in the state.

This reporter will play a central role in producing our daily coverage of the state Legislature and the governor’s office. They’ll write about intraparty battles and jockeying among the gubernatorial staffers. They’ll cover the state budget process and the fierce negotiations over major bills. And they’ll chronicle new Gov. Mikie Sherrill as she navigates difficult state finances and battles the Trump administration.

We want a hungry reporter obsessed with getting the story first. This role will be integral to our reporting for professional subscribers and also comes with a platform to write sweeping stories that will define New Jersey politics for a statewide and national audience.

What You’ll Do:

• Deliver daily, up-to-the-minute reporting on action in the Statehouse, including on major legislative debates and state budget negotiations.

• Stakeout key legislative meetings and cover press conferences and gaggles in Trenton and, where needed, in other parts of the state.

• Build sourcing in legislative offices and the governor’s office.

• Dig deeply into the inner workings of the governor’s office and maneuvering within the governor’s inner circle, as well as the relationship between the governor and lawmakers.

• Stay ahead of major legislative policy proposals.

• Collaborate on a weekday and monthly newsletter for professional subscribers.

What You’ll Need:

• Experience covering government, politics or policy — or a track record of doing similar work.

• The ability to build a network of well-placed and trustworthy sources.

• Smart, innovative ideas and a drive to be first on every big story.

• The flexibility to deliver stories written for professional subscribers, an informed audience of New Jersey political insiders and POLITICO’s national readership.

• Ability to juggle tight deadlines and a demanding schedule.

• A rigorous commitment to fair-minded, nonpartisan journalism.

Please submit a cover letter, resume and three clips with your application.

We value our people. Click here for more on what we offer and what it’s like to work for POLITICO.

Let’s keep in touch. You can view our list of open positions here . We hope to see your application soon!

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. The company’s guiding principles - first articulated as  The Essentials by founder Axel Springer in the aftermath of World War II - remain a cornerstone of the company’s foundation today. Learn more about Axel Springer.

Posting date:

2026-03-17

Title:

New Jersey Statehouse Reporter