Blake Hounshell, a well-known journalist who edited The New York Times’ “On Politics” newsletter and formerly held several leadership positions at Politico, died Tuesday In Washington. He was 44. Joe Kahn, the Times executive editor, and Carolyn Ryan, the newspaper’s managing editor, said in a note to staff that Hounshell “was a dedicated journalist who quickly distinguished himself as our lead politics newsletter writer and a gifted observer of our country’s political scene.” He joined the Times in October 2021 after eight years at Politico.