I have been reading political journalism for years.

Going back to at least the 2008 U.S. presidential election, I have closely followed almost every political development at statewide levels and at the national level in the country. Needless to say, when given the opportunity to write about politics for the Daily and contribute to informing people about their government — I jumped at the chance.

With the weather finally cooling down and caucus season really heating up, the Daily made the decision to split the politics desk in two, and it has been my pleasure to be the Daily’s state and national politics editor.

Through this position I am able to get up close to the people running to be the country’s next president — a privilege we have in Iowa in no small part thanks to our status as the first state to make its preference for our next president known through the caucuses.

In my role, I constantly try to keep up with what is going on at the state and national level to ensure our readers are informed about what is going on in government at a time when many feel it is distant from their lives.

Beyond ensuring our readers are informed, I strive to make sure to find an Iowa State connection to whatever we are covering, whether it be the state legislature not fully funding the governor’s request for education in the state budget or the presidential debates. In doing so, I aim to keep what we do relevant to students and add a campus perspective to otherwise distant subjects.

Simply stated, I want to continue doing what I like and doing what I think is important for our community — ensuring fair, complete and accurate coverage of our state and our national government as we move towards choosing our next president.