Off the Line is a project of a New Jersey-based writer, attorney, and political consultant with more opinions than I know what to do with.

From February 2019 to November 2024, I was one of two lead authors of the newsletter Primary School, which was launched under the name Primaries for Progress as a project of the think tank Data for Progress. We ended our affiliation with Data for Progress and changed the name in 2021, continuing to run Primary School as the leading source of news on Democratic and left-of-center independent electoral politics at the congressional, state, and local levels. By 2024, changes in our personal lives made the continuation of Primary School untenable at the level of detail and frequency we were comfortable with, so we made the difficult decision to shut down the newsletter.

Then the second Trump administration was sworn in. Suddenly, funding for my day job is in jeopardy, the Democratic base is angrier than it’s ever been, and stepping away from my particular niche of primaries-focused political writing seems like a mistake on multiple fronts. I won’t be as narrowly focused as I was with Primary School—you’ll see some general election coverage, annoying punditry, New Jersey deep dives, and whatever else I feel like—but I’ll still be writing. As always, I’m grateful for and humbled by your readership and support!