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CNN Pay Tribute to Alice Stewart: A Very Special Woman Dead at 58
Alice Stewart, a longtime political strategist and CNN political pundit who worked on multiple Republican presidential campaigns, has died. She was 58. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer joins Jessica Dean to reflect on Stewart as a friend and coworker.
According to law enforcement officials, Stewart’s body was discovered outside in the Belle View community of northern Virginia early Saturday morning. There is no indication of foul play, and officers assume a medical emergency occurred.
“Alice was a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN,” CNN’s CEO Mark Thompson wrote in an email to employees Saturday. “A political veteran and Emmy Award-winning journalist who brought an exceptional spark to CNN’s coverage, known throughout our bureaus not only for her political acumen, but also for her unfailing kindness. Our emotions are heavy as we lament such a great loss.”
Alice Stewart was born March 11, 1966, in Atlanta.
Stewart began her career as a local reporter and producer in Georgia before relocating to Little Rock, Arkansas, to become a news anchor, she told Harvard International Review. She went on to work as the communications director for then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee before taking on a similar role for his presidential campaign in 2008.
She previously worked as the communications director for former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 2012 Republican presidential campaign, as well as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a former CNN analyst. Stewart most recently served as the communications director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 GOP campaign.
“Alice was wonderful, talented, and a dear friend,” Cruz wrote in a post on X. “She lived every day to the fullest, and she will be deeply missed.”
CNN hired Stewart as a political pundit ahead of the 2016 election, and she appeared on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” as recently as Friday to provide insight on the day’s political headlines.
“We always invited her to come on my show because we knew we would be a little bit smarter at the end of that conversation,” Blitzer stated to Jessica Dean on “CNN Newsroom.” “She helped our viewers better appreciate what was going on and that’s why we will miss her so much.”
