BuzzFeed taps Cleveland Plain Dealer's Henry Gomez to cover Republican politics in age of Trump
"It's exciting to have the opportunity to contribute to that, especially in these extraordinary times for the Republican Party, and I'm looking forward to joining the team," Gomez said in a statement provided to Business Insider. "I've been so fortunate to spend more than a decade with Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer, and know they will continue to do great work."
Gomez will report to Katherine Miller, politics editor for BuzzFeed News, and will begin his new role in early April. He will be based outside the beltway, reporting from Ohio - a notable detail, as some news organizations have said they plan to look outside the Northeastern "Acela corridor" for new hires in an effort to better represent Americans across the heartland.
Gomez leaves the Plain Dealer as the publication's chief politics writer, a position to which he was promoted in 2011 after assignments covering Cleveland City Hall and Cuyahoga County government.
In 2016, Gomez covered and broke news on Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign, in addition to gubernatorial and Senate races, establishing a sterling reputation as one of the top reporters in Ohio.
Miller said Gomez has "big ideas" about trends inside the Republican Party and will examine "what happens to Trump voters" and "what it means to be a conservative" with Trump as president.
"We're thrilled to have him continue and expand on our coverage of the GOP and the conservative movement in a highly interesting environment that deserves and demands smart reporting," she said.
A BuzzFeed News spokesperson also said control of state legislatures and parties will be something on which the digital news outlet keeps close tabs on. With his background as a state politics reporter, Gomez will bring a unique skill set to BuzzFeed to report on such stories, the spokesperson said.
In recent months, BuzzFeed has moved to hire a slew of politics reporters after some of its top stars departed the news organization at the end of the 2016 cycle for other opportunities. In October, Alexis Levinson was hired from the National Review and, more recently, Steven Perlberg was brought aboard from the Wall Street Journal.