Alice Stewart Dies: CNN Political Commentator Was 58

Bruce Haring

18 May 2024 at 5:50 pm·2-min read

Alice Stewart Dies: CNN Political Commentator Was 58

Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died at 58.

Stewart’s body was found outdoors in the Bellevue neighborhood in northern Virginia early Saturday morning. No foul play is suspected, and officers believe a medical emergency occurred.

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“Alice was a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN,” Mark Thompson, the network’s CEO, said in an email to staff Saturday. “A political veteran and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who brought an incomparable spark to CNN’s coverage, known across our bureaus not only for her political savvy, but for her unwavering kindness. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn such an extraordinary loss.”

Stewart was born in Atlanta, Georgia, an started her career as a local reporter and producer in that state. She then moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be a news anchor. From there, she served as the communications director in then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office before assuming a similar role for his presidential run in 2008.

After that, Stewart also served as the communications director for the 2012 presidential bids of former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and then former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, also a former CNN commentator.

Most recently, Stewart was the communications director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign.

CNN hired Stewart ahead of the 2016 election to work as a commentator. Her last appearance was Friday on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

Stewart told Harvard Political Review in 2020 that she brings “a perspective that I think CNN appreciates.”

“My position at CNN is to be a conservative voice yet an independent thinker,” Stewart said. “I’m not a Kool-Aid drinker; I’m not a never-Trumper, and I didn’t check my common sense and decency at the door when I voted for (Trump).”

She was co-host of the podcast Hot Mics From Left to Right with CNN commentator Maria Cardona.

No information on survivors was immediately available.

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