![Sergio Bustos](https://floridapolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sergio-Bustos-1024x1024.jpg)
Sergio Bustos, a veteran political journalist, has been hired by The Associated Press as the news cooperative’s Miami-based politics reporter, a key position ahead the 2016 elections.
Bustos, 52, joins the AP from the Miami Herald, where he has led that newspaper’s politics and state government coverage since 2010, worked with PolitiFactFlorida.com in partnership with the Tampa Bay Times and worked as the paper’s Sunday editor.
The appointment was announced Tuesday by AP’s Politics Editor David Scott, South Editor Lisa Marie Pane and Florida News Editor Terry Spencer.
“Sergio knows Florida and the politics of the state, and Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in the race only adds to the importance Florida will play in the choice of the next president. We’re excited about what he’ll bring to our report,” Scott said.
Bustos previously worked at The Daily News Leader in Staunton, Va., The News-Journal in Wilmington, Del., the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. From 1999 to 2005, he was a Washington correspondent for Gannett News Service, covering immigration and writing for the company’s southwest newspapers, including The Arizona Republic.
“Sergio knows this territory well — not just the political dynamics, but its players,” Pane said. “His deep knowledge and grasp of the players and the issues, and his perspective are key to AP’s mission to aggressively cover what is shaping up to be a fascinating campaign.”
Bustos has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.