We just hit a subscriber milestone

Thank you, Longleaf readers, for your support. Here are a few words on what comes next.

On January 1, I turned on paid subscriptions not quite knowing what to expect. It hasn’t always gone according to plan, but the ride has been plenty of fun. Here’s a quick update.

A few days ago, we crossed 100 paid subscribers. Apparently that makes Longleaf Politics a Substack “best seller,” which makes me chuckle. Mostly, though, it makes me grateful. Thank you for reading, sharing, and supporting this work.

Subscriptions are a tricky business. We all get hit up for payments constantly, and the fatigue is real. I feel it too. So I deeply, deeply appreciate it that you’ve chosen to support me here.

A month or so ago on the Do Politics Better podcast, host Brian Lewis asked me, “How should I describe you to my wife tonight?” Journalist? Operative? Columnist?

All those are fair, to some extent. But the reality is that it’s a shifting target.

Since launching paid, a lot has changed. The big one is that I’ve started a twice-weekly column for the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer, so m…