Perry Bacon Jr. is a correspondent in the Washington bureau, covering education policy, diplomatic issues and politics. Since joining TIME in September 2002, he has written stories about charter schools and other education issues, and politics, including pieces on 2004 Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean and John Kerry. He has contributed to a number of cover packages including those on both the 2004 election and the war in Iraq.

A native of Louisville, KY, Bacon graduated from Yale University with distinction in political science, interning at the Louisville Courier Journal, National Journal, and the Washington Post before joining TIME.