Jonathan Martin joins POLITICO as Politics bureau chief and senior political columnist

Jonathan Martin

Announcement from Executive Editor Dafna Linzer:

 I’m proud to share that Jonathan Martin is returning to POLITICO as Politics Bureau Chief and a senior political columnist, leading our core coverage at a momentous time for our country and our newsroom.

Sometimes you hear people wonder nostalgically whether journalism is still producing outsized personalities. Those are people who have never met Jonathan. He is one of the great and original voices writing about politics today, and he has concluded POLITICO is the best home for that voice.

Jonathan made his mark in the profession at the same moment POLITICO was first making its mark as a successful disruptor. He was among our publication’s first hires, late in 2006, and he quickly became a must follow, covering elections in every corner of the country with insight and authority. His knowledge, his humor, his competitiveness — all these made him a POLITICO original for the first eight years of our history.

What made him stand out then is what made him indispensable later at The New York Times. These include a pure and unabashed love of politics at every level, and a flesh-and-blood understanding of the players — from mayors to state party chairs to heads of state. Reporting has always been at the heart of his journalism and will be in his new role at POLITICO.

He is uniquely able to capture the forces at play while understanding that politics must in the end be a serious enterprise — the way a democracy gives expression to its real values.

Above all, Jonathan is steeped in history, a fascination that finds its way into nearly all his stories and the best-selling book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future which he co-authored with fellow POLITICO, Alex Burns.

Jonathan believes deeply in the future of this publication, here and around the world, and that we are a newsroom full of journalists who share his love of stories and the thrill of telling them earlier, more authoritatively and more stylishly than anyone else.

People who have worked with Jonathan throughout his career describe him first as “generous,” and then as sensationally talented. Those who haven’t worked with him before will soon learn why he is a great colleague and role model.

Jonathan starts Nov. 1. Please join me in welcoming him home.