Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

Washington, D.C.

White House, politics, political campaigns, criminal justice, equity

Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, bachelor's in journalism and mass communication

Cleve R. Wootson Jr. is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He previously covered the 2020 campaign for president, and worked on The Post's General Assignment before that. For a decade, he was a reporter for the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.
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Latest from Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

A Connecticut town that swung toward Trump offers clues for Democrats

Even in the Naugatuck Valley, a Democratic area in a blue state, economic frustrations pushed some voters toward the Republican nominee

December 2, 2024
Waterbury's East Main Street. It's a working-class manufacturing city that mirrors other communities across the country that, while reliably Democratic, moved closer to supporting the Republican presidential candidate in 2024.

Democrats begin grappling with who will lead them through exile

State leaders could emerge as the Democrats’ new power centers at a time when the party’s fortunes in Washington have plummeted

November 9, 2024
Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) and other Senate Democrats arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in September.

The Campaign Moment: What do Democrats do now?

Following Donald Trump’s historic victory this week, Democrats are soul-searching again. They’re also playing the blame game.

November 8, 2024

Democrats play the blame game

Following Donald Trump’s historic victory this week, Democrats are soul-searching again. They’re also playing the blame game.

November 8, 2024

Why did so many voters swing to the right? Your election questions, answered.

Post reporters from around the country answered your questions about the second election of Donald Trump to the White House.

November 8, 2024

Harris concedes to Trump but says ‘fight that fueled this campaign’ endures

Harris addressed the nation from her alma mater, Howard University. It was her public appearance since Trump won the presidential race.

November 6, 2024

Harris defeat is a stinging verdict for the left

For Harris, who is no stranger to setbacks, the presidential election result was a devastating defeat.

November 6, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris, at the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit on Nov. 3, struggled to separate herself from the Biden administration.

Trump bet the race on running up the score with men

As votes were counted Tuesday night, early exit polls showed Harris’s margin with women was not better than Biden’s in 2020.

November 5, 2024
People wave Harris-Walz campaign signs to passersby at the Fayette County canvass launch where Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Georgia) spoke to a crowd in Fayetteville, Georgia, on Tuesday.

Trump renews vow to ‘protect’ women as he and Harris clash in North Carolina

The bruising presidential race zoomed into a key battleground state on Saturday.

November 2, 2024
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump walks onstage during a campaign event in Salem, Virginia, on Saturday. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post)

Harris, entering final stretch, stresses unity and paints Trump as a divider

In Michigan, Harris decries the former president’s targeting of the “enemy from within” and condemns the insults of Puerto Rico at Sunday’s Trump rally.

October 28, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign event Monday in Ann Arbor, Michigan.