From misinformation and medicine to spending and sports, I’ve covered a lot of ground in my journalism career. And one thing has connected all of it: the facts and figures published by OpenSecrets.
That treasure trove of public information has been essential to so many of my past roles. And now, as Sunshine Week begins, I’m thrilled to join the home team – an organization unmatched in its commitment to transparency, accessibility and accountability in political spending, from campaigns to lobbying and everything in between.
When it comes to tracking money in politics and making it not just findable but understandable, nobody does it better than OpenSecrets. Our tagline, “Following the money in politics,” isn’t just a slogan. It’s a mission statement, a way of working and a promise to the public.
That’s where I come in. I’m excited to serve as the senior reporter, digging into the data and investigating the stories behind it, whether that means dark money networks, super PACs, campaign funding, lobbying operations or the countless other financial forces shaping our political system. Essential in any election cycle, that work is especially vital in an election year – and downright critical in 2026 with such a high-stakes midterm approaching. Tracking spending trends and documenting the dollars moving between now and November is a responsibility I take seriously.
It’s also something I’ve been doing, in one form or another, for the past 26 years. In fact, I still remember the first time I tiptoed into political spending figures. It was during graduate school at Northwestern University in what’s now the Medill on the Hill program. One of our first seminars focused on the Federal Election Commission and its massive database of campaign donors and recipients.
At the time, I was an aspiring sports writer. So, naturally, I typed in the names of every sports figure that came to mind.
What I found stopped me: ESPN anchor Dan Patrick had donated $1,000 to Democrat Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign. If that kind of detail was sitting there in plain sight for anyone with an internet connection, what else was waiting to be uncovered?
Over the next quarter century, I found out.
When I covered spending in multiple House and Senate races for the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., I relied heavily on OpenSecrets’ data. When I debunked outlandish claims about the net worth of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for USA Today, OpenSecrets figures helped establish the facts. And when my reporting on public health policy led me to break down the organizations behind the Make America Healthy Again enterprise, OpenSecrets was once again essential – helping me explain the significance of the financial forces underpinning the MAHA umbrella.
What excites me today is the chance to see what else we can uncover together, now that I’m digging into the data from the inside. There are so many threads to pull, and I’m eager to start pulling them.
Let’s follow the money and see where it leads.
Republish this article
We encourage you to republish our content. Please review our republication policy for guidelines.
Support Accountability Journalism
At OpenSecrets.org we offer in-depth, money-in-politics stories in the public interest. Whether you’re reading about 2022 midterm fundraising, conflicts of interest or “dark money” influence, we produce this content with a small, but dedicated team. Every donation we receive from users like you goes directly into promoting high-quality data analysis and investigative journalism that you can trust.