John Bowden, a Washington correspondent, joined The Independent in 2021. In this role, he covers the State Department as well as various statewide and national races. The Severna Park, Maryland native studied journalism at Elon University in North Carolina, and came to his current position from The Hill. There, he covered breaking news after leaving the audience team. At The Independent, John often covers the Maga-aligned right and the tensions that develop between it and the broader conservative movement in America. He also closely follows US-Iran policy developments. He is a long-suffering fan of the only good baseball team in the region: the Baltimore Orioles.