Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Christopher Cadelago

91. Chris Cadelago

There is no newsroom leader overseeing coverage of California politics today better than Christopher Cadelago. As Politico’s Editorial Director for California, he knows the issues as well as any reporter on the Capitol beat, and he uses that insight to shape the most thoughtful daily journalism newsletter in the Golden State, the California Playbook. Cadelago has assembled a stellar team of Sacramento veterans and new faces who scoop the competition on the regular, and he is leading the publication’s expansion in both LA and the Bay Area. The bureau has actually tripled in size, something unheard of in this time of media failure everywhere you look. Cadelago was a great statehouse reporter in his own right back in the day, and he also spent several years in Washington D.C. covering the Biden administration. He came home a few years ago and brought all of that experience and news judgement with him, forming a team that is redefining what Capitol coverage looks like in these difficult times for journalism.

Updated August 11, 2026.