Dedicated reporting teams in seven key counties will look at voter attitudes and trends shaping the 2024 election over the next year
Dec. 17, 2023 — NBC News on Sunday launched “The Deciders,” a new hyperlocal reporting initiative featuring in-depth, on-the-ground reporting from a team of nearly three dozen journalists focused on the 2024 presidential race in seven key counties around the country.
National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joined Moderator Kristen Welker on Sunday’s Meet the Press to unveil the project (watch the video). Building on “County to County,” which focused on the demographic importance of bellwether counties in 2020 and 2022, “The Deciders” will tell stories about the people and the issues over the course of the next year — helping define and examine the larger themes and subcurrents shaping voters’ decision making up and down the ballot.
“There are more than 3,100 counties across the United States,” said Kornacki on this morning’s Meet the Press on NBC. “But we have got seven that we’re going to drill down on between now and Election Day ’24. I think they’re going to help us tell the story through next year … on Election Night next year, they are all going to loom large for different reasons.”
The initiative represents a significant early investment from NBC News in closely covering the on-the-ground dynamics of the 2024 election cycle, getting beyond “horse race” coverage and bringing audiences deeply reported, on-the-ground insights on the stakes of the race from a key cross-section of the electorate. Through voter interviews, focus groups, and in-depth reporting, dedicated reporting teams in each of the seven counties – one each in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – will regularly return to the same voters and communities throughout the year to spotlight how they are thinking about the issues and how their priorities shift or hold up over time.
NBC News Correspondent Vaughn Hillyard will report from Maricopa County, Ariz., along with producer Dan Gallo and embed Alex Tabet; Correspondent Marissa Parra will report from Miami-Dade County, Fla., along with producer Bianca Seward and embed Alec Hernández; Correspondent Blayne Alexander will report from Gwinnett County, Ga., along with producer Charlie Gile and embed Nnamdi Egwuonwu; Correspondent Shaq Brewster will report from Dane County, Wis., and Kent County, Mich., along with producer Kailani Koenig and embed reporters Jillian Frankel and Sarah Dean; Correspondent Steve Patterson will report from Washoe County, Nev., along with producer Brian Lavietes and embed reporter Katherine Koretski; and Correspondent Dasha Burns will report from Erie County, Pa., along with producer Abby Brooks and embed Emma Barnett.
In 2024, close collaboration with local news partners in these regions will help expand the depth and reach of this reporting more than any previous cycle, with local and network reporters alike exchanging reporting regularly and offering audiences a constant on-the-ground presence in these crucial communities. Reporting partners will include NBC-owned WTVJ (Miami, Fla.) and affiliates KPNX (Phoenix, Ariz.), WXIA (Atlanta, Ga.), WOOD (Grand Rapids, Mich.), KRNV (Reno, Nev.), WICU (Erie, Pa.), and WMTV (Madison, Wis).
Reporting from “The Deciders” will appear across all NBCUniversal News Group platforms, including NBC News, NBC News NOW, and NBCNews.com.
