Seema Mehta is a veteran political writer who is covering the 2024 presidential race as well as other state and national contests. She previously wrote about the 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2008 presidential campaigns, as well as multiple gubernatorial, Senate, congressional and mayoral races. Mehta was a 2018-19 Knight-Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan, where she studied how automation and artificial intelligence are indelibly changing the nation’s identity, policies and politics. The Syracuse University graduate and East Coast native swore when she joined The Times in 1998 that she would only spend a few years on the Left Coast. Many years, a husband, a house and a few cats later, she can’t imagine living somewhere she couldn’t golf year-round.
Latest From This Author
After being appointed to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat, Laphonza Butler served for 13 months. Her next goal is getting up to speed on her daughter’s new hobby: competitive cheerleading.
The president-elect’s pick of Matt Gaetz for attorney general signals that he wants the Justice Department to take a sharp-elbowed, hyperpartisan approach to legal matters.
Nov. 14, 2024
Kamala Harris acknowledged her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump, but also resolved to never give up the fight for a more just union.
Nov. 6, 2024
The mood at Howard University, where Harris supporters gathered hoping to witness history, went from hopeful to despondent as election returns came in.
Nov. 6, 2024
More than 83 million Americans have already cast ballots in the White House contest between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.
Nov. 5, 2024
A GOP takeover of the Senate would mean obstacles for Kamala Harris if she is elected president and a potential glide path for Donald Trump’s agenda if he wins.
Nov. 4, 2024
While vote-counting delays are likely, Georgia and North Carolina count votes relatively quickly, and Michigan changed its rules and is likely to be faster than four years ago.
Nov. 4, 2024
Football fans in two of the nation’s most closely divided states try to catch a break from the presidential campaign.
Nov. 3, 2024
Nevada was disproportionately harmed economically by the pandemic, with casino closures and the nation’s highest unemployment rate. The state has rebounded, but a hangover from that difficult period plus high housing and grocery costs weigh on voters of both parties.
Nov. 3, 2024
Some Californians moved to the states to canvass for Democrats, while others join weekend bus trips to knock on doors.
Oct. 28, 2024