Ben Jacobs Author Archive
Give A Gift
MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Ben Jacobs

Contributor, Intelligencer

Ben Jacobs is a reporter in Washington, D.C. He has covered four presidential campaigns and countless federal and state elections as well as Capitol Hill, the White House, and the Supreme Court.

  1. politics
    Can Eric Adams Hold On to His Lead?What the first results of the mayoral race mean for him and his opponents.
  2. mayor’s race
    How Kathryn Garcia Campaigned in the Race’s Final HoursShe embraced her alliance with Andrew Yang — when she was talking to his voters.
  3. politics
    Mayamentum!Why Maya Wiley is surging at the last possible moment.
  4. politics
    The Story of How Same-Sex Marriage Went From Fringe to MainstreamSasha Issenberg on what can be learned from the civil-rights breakthrough of the 21st century.
  5. the city politic
    20 New Yorkers (From Fran Lebowitz to Ron Kim) On Ranking The Mayoral CandidatesFran Lebowitz, Ron Kim, Chelsea Manning, and more weigh in on the mayoral primary candidates.
  6. politics
    Millennial MAGA Moderate Replaces Liz CheneyElise Stefanik is no archconservative, but her loyalty to Trump was rewarded with a spot in GOP leadership.
  7. politics
    Liz Cheney Meets Her Fate in a Capitol BasementThe scene from a Republican purge.
  8. politics
    Tim Scott Vouches for Republicans on RaceThe GOP response to Biden was really about the party’s identity after Trump.
  9. politics
    If D.C. Becomes a State, the National Mall Gets to Vote for PresidentThe constitutional quirk inside the push for a 51st state.
  10. politics
    Matt Gaetz (R–TV)Scandals haven’t sunk the congressman yet, maybe because he’s more of a media figure than a politician.
  11. politics
    Matt Gaetz Gets a Scandal As Wild As HimA sex-trafficking investigation meets an extortion plot involving his father (wearing a wire), $25 million in cash, and an American hostage in Iran.
  12. politics
    Now a Democrat Is Accused of Trying to Overturn the ElectionA losing candidate asks the House to declare her the winner, and Republicans cry hypocrisy.
  13. washington dc
    The Slow Push to ‘Free the Capitol’ From Its FencingTwo months after the Capitol riot, the political divide inside Congress has made it difficult to address the razor-wire divide outside.
  14. politics
    No One Likes Marjorie Taylor Greene, But Can Anyone Stop Her?Democrats and Republicans may agree on something after all.
  15. politics
    Adam Kinzinger’s Bold Prediction: Trump Will Fade AwayThe Republican congressman tries to save his party and himself.
  16. cpac
    Trump’s CPAC Blast From the PastThe ex-president’s big return seemed like an alternate reality where the Capitol riot never happened.
  17. politics
    The New Foreign Flavor of CPAC’s Red MeatAmerica may still be first at the conservative gathering, but this year’s event has come with a lot more European-style populism.
  18. politics
    The New CPAC Makes the Old CPAC Look Like the #ResistanceTrump critics are out, election truthers are in.
  19. politics
    ‘You Only Let a Bully Go So Long’: Marie Newman Takes on Marjorie Taylor GreeneThe Democrat explains why she planted a transgender pride flag across from Greene’s office, and says she finds her response “absolutely hysterical.”
  20. politics
    What It’s Like to Impeach TrumpVeterans of the first trial say the second might be easier in one regard: The jurors were witnesses.
  21. just asking questions
    Marjorie Taylor Greene Is the ‘Worst Enemy’ for Her CausesA long talk with John Cowan, the Republican neurosurgeon who Greene defeated in the 2020 GOP primary for Georgia’s 14th congressional district.
  22. politics
    Even the Guy the MyPillow CEO Wanted to Enlist for a Coup Is ConfusedThe mattress mogul might have handed Trump a plan for holding onto power. One of the people named has no idea what’s going on.
  23. politics
    Ted Cruz’s Former Staffers Are ‘Disgusted’ by His New Low for Trump“I could have never imagined that he could have gone down this road.”
  24. politics
    ‘The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back’A dozen Republican operatives speak out after the party lost the Senate and a mob attacked the Capitol in the president’s name.
  25. politics
    Experts Fear Trump’s Failed Coup Is a ‘Dress Rehearsal’American democracy survived the 2020 election, but in what shape?
  26. politics
    ‘GOP Lawmakers Are Scared’: Republican Insiders Vent About ‘Stop the Steal’Party operatives sound off by text on Trump and his loyalists’ desperate legal antics.
  27. 2021
    ‘Republicans Have No Intent of Acting in Good Faith’Adam Jentleson had a front-row seat to the last time Mitch McConnell obstructed a Democratic president, and he’s got a warning for his party.
  28. politics
    ‘I Wouldn’t Let Those Lawyers Represent Me for a Parking Ticket’Republicans say the antics to overturn the election are getting tired, fast, and they could cost the party if they go on much longer.
  29. politics
    Why ‘Socialism’ Killed Democrats in FloridaWhy an old line of attack found new success in 2020.
  30. maga
    ‘Trump Has Given Us a Gift’: GOP Insiders See Victory in Potential LossEven if he loses to Joe Biden, Republicans see a party with potential and a new president playing with a losing hand.
  31. politics
    Kanye’s 2020 Run May Be the Future of Presidential PoliticsThe next Trump or Yeezus won’t even need a party — just celebrity, money, and an actual campaign.
  32. politics
    Where the Trump Revolution Started and EndedRepublicans thought they had a realignment on their hands four years ago. Iowa shows why they were wrong.
  33. politics
    ‘Grand Slam’: GOP Insiders Texted Me Their Honest Feelings About Final DebateRepublicans feel buoyed by the president who wasn’t a complete disaster this time around.
  34. vision 2020
    Has Trump Killed Sex Scandals? The Curious Case of Cal CunninghamThe Democrat running for a must-win Senate seat in North Carolina was caught cheating on his wife just weeks before Election Day.
  35. speaking out
    Alexander Vindman’s Wife Accuses Trump of Threatening Their FamilyThe spouse of the colonel who stood up to the president speaks out for the first time.
  36. anonymous
    ‘Smoked Her.’ GOP Insiders Texted Me Their Honest Feelings on the VP Debate.Republicans got relief from Donald Trump’s disastrous week in the form of Mike Pence.
  37. just a flesh wound?
    Republicans Hope Amy Coney Barrett Will Cure Trump’s COVID ProblemThe GOP’s Senate majority looks shakier with the president’s polls collapsing, but insiders have faith that this too shall pass.
  38. early and often
    The White House Is Spreading Virus and LiesA senior official says there’s no reliable information about anyone’s health in the West Wing, and especially not on the president’s condition.
  39. anonymous
    ‘Just Putrid’: GOP Insiders Texted Me Their Honest Feelings About the DebateA Republican close to the Trump campaign said, “We finally found something that the entire country can agree on: This debate was a complete shitshow.”
  40. vision 2020
    ‘Classic Authoritarian’: How Historians Rate Trump’s Danger to DemocracyYou’re not paranoid to think the U.S. is headed for disaster, according to the people who study how democracies die.
  41. rbg
    How Flood of Democratic Money in Wake of RBG Death Is Changing Senate MapAround $100 million has come in for Democratic Senate candidates since RBG’s death, which could be pivotal in states like Alaska.
  42. scotus
    How the Battle to Fill RBG’s SCOTUS Seat Could Spark a Constitutional CrisisIt turns out that the United States didn’t need to wait until Election Day to undergo a political meltdown.
  43. vision 2020
    How the Campaigns Are Preparing to Win the Chaotic Election AftermathIt’s a new political world in which November 3 doesn’t necessarily mark the end of the campaign, but the beginning of a new phase.
  44. vision 2020
    Kanye West’s Nearly $7 Million Presidential Campaign Has Hit Some Legal SnagsThe rapper has been thrown off the ballot in another two swing states, while his overdue financial disclosures have revealed more GOP ties.
  45. vision 2020
    Kanye West’s Presidential Campaign Is Both Proceeding and UnravelingSeveral electors submitted by West’s campaign in Virginia were shocked and dismayed to learn they had signed up to be electors for the rapper.
  46. vision 2020
    Kanye West Trying to Get on Ballot in Two More Purple StatesThe rapper registered as a Republican in Wyoming after announcing his presidential campaign.
  47. vision 2020
    What the Hell Is Kanye West’s Campaign About?It is not serious, but it’s not a joke either. It has aspects of both a vanity project and a GOP sabotage operation, but not fully either.
  48. vision 2020
    Two People Linked to Kanye West’s Campaign Have Ties to GOPA 2020 RNC Trump delegate from Vermont and a longtime Republican operative have both been connected to the rapper’s presidential bid.
  49. vision 2020
    Kanye West Is Trying to Get on the Ballot in Wisconsin, a Crucial Swing StateHis unorthodox presidential campaign is also collecting signatures in Ohio, Arkansas, and West Virginia, but its earlier efforts face legal scrutiny.
  50. early and often
    Two Political Novices Ran Kanye’s Unsuccessful Ballot Effort in South CarolinaAccording to two sources, the key figures in the effort are a Christian music producer and West’s spiritual adviser.
More Articles