Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator and veteran political adviser who worked on a number of GOP presidential campaigns, has died at age 58, the news network reported Saturday.
Police in northern Virginia told CNN that Stewart’s body was found outdoors in the Bellevue neighborhood early Saturday morning and that no foul play was suspected. Officials believe Stewart suffered a medical episode, according to CNN.
In an email to staff, the network’s CEO Mark Thompson called Stewart “a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN.”
“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,” he wrote. “Our hearts are heavy as we mourn such an extraordinary loss.”
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No further information about the cause of death or survivors was available Saturday.
Stewart was born on March 11, 1966, in Atlanta, and began her career as a local reporter in Georgia before moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be a news anchor. She went on to serve as the communications director in then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. She assumed similar roles during Huckabee’s presidential run in 2008 and served as communications director for the 2012 presidential bids of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and then former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Most recently, Stewart was the communications director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign.
“Heartbreaking,” Cruz posted Saturday on social media. “Alice was wonderful and talented and a dear friend. And she loved America fiercely. She lived every day to the fullest, and she will be deeply missed. May God’s comfort and peace be upon her loved ones. RIP.”
Stewart came on board CNN as a political commentator before the 2016 election and frequently appeared on air to provide insight on the political news of the day. She last appeared Friday on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”
Stewart told the 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).”
Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson posted on X that Stewart’s “sudden death is such a loss to all who valued her friendship as well as her political passion.”
“I first met Alice in Arkansas and I am proud that she focused on making friends in politics and not making enemies,” he posted. “Thank you Alice Stewart!”
Stewart also co-hosted the podcast “Hot Mics from Left to Right” alongside fellow CNN commentator Maria Cardona, and served on the senior advisory committee at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School where she was previously a fellow.
In her free time, Stewart was an avid runner, according to CNN. She frequently posted photos from road races on social media, including from the TCS New York City Marathon, which she ran in November, and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile race, which she ran last month.
Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist and political commentator on CNN, has died. She was 58.
Her death was announced by CNN. The company said the police found Ms. Stewart’s body outdoors in Northern Virginia early Saturday morning. The authorities believe she had a medical emergency.
Mark Thompson, CNN’s chief executive, described her in an email to staff members as “a political veteran and an Emmy Award-winning journalist who brought an incomparable spark to CNN’s coverage” and who was known not just “for her political savvy, but for her unwavering kindness,” CNN reported.
Ms. Stewart had appeared on the cable news outlet as a conservative commentator since the 2016 presidential race. Before that, Ms. Stewart had worked on several Republican presidential campaigns.
She was the communications director for the 2008 presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, and went on to serve in similar roles for Republican candidates in two following elections, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Ms. Stewart served as the deputy secretary of state in Arkansas, according to the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, where she was a fellow in 2020. She had also done work for the Republican Party and conservative organizations.
At CNN, Ms. Stewart viewed herself as a faithful promoter of conservatism while the Republican Party reshaped itself under the leadership of former President Donald J. Trump.
“I don’t think everything that he does is great, and I don’t think everything that he does is bad,” Ms. Stewart said of Mr. Trump in a 2020 interview with Harvard Political Review. “My position at CNN is to be a conservative voice yet an independent thinker.”
In an opinion piece published on CNN last year, Ms. Stewart asked Republican voters to reconsider their unconditional support for Mr. Trump’s 2024 election bid given the various criminal charges he faces.
“This is a campaign about self-preservation, not selfless public service,” Ms. Stewart wrote. “I’m not convinced that’s how you Make America Great Again.”
Ms. Stewart had experience presenting ideas on live television long before she joined CNN.
Before transitioning to politics in 2005 with a job as press secretary in the administration of Mr. Huckabee, Ms. Stewart was a news anchor and reporter for seven years at an NBC television affiliate in Little Rock, Ark., according to LinkedIn.
“I loved covering politics. I loved courts. I loved breaking news,” Ms. Stewart said in a 2020 interview with Harvard International Review. “But, several years ago, I just realized that there might be something different for me to do.”
Ms. Stewart was born on March 11, 1966, in Atlanta, according to CNN. She earned a degree in broadcast news and political science from the University of Georgia, according to Harvard International Review.
Ms. Stewart last appeared on CNN on Friday on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” CNN said.
A list of survivors was not immediately available.