Originally appeared on E! Online
As loved ones continue to mourn CNN commentator Alice Stewart, some information about what might have led to her sudden death has come to light.
Law enforcement officials told CNN, which confirmed Stewart’s death May 18, her body was found outdoors in the Belle View neighborhood of northern Virginia early in the morning. No foul play is suspected at this time, with officers believing a medical emergency occurred, though they did not provide an exact cause.
Stewart began her career as a local reporter and producer in Georgia before moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be a news anchor. It was through her job in Little Rock that she got to know then-Governor Mike Huckabee, she previously told the Harvard International Review, and began first working in his office as communications director before taking on the same role for his 2008 presidential run.
She would go on to work fore three more presidential campaigns, including the 2012 Republican presidential bids of former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and then former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and, most recently, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz‘s presidential campaign in 2016. It was ahead of the 2016 general election that Stewart was hired as a political commentator for CNN.
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Throughout her time with the network, she co-hosted the Hot Mics From Left to Right podcast alongside CNN’s Maria Cardona and often appeared on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.
“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,” Wolf Blitzer told Jessica Dean on CNN Newsroom following Stewart’s death. “She helped our viewers better appreciate what was going on and that’s why we will miss her so much.”
Cardona added, “I want everyone to know what a special person she was, especially in this industry. As you know, today’s politics can be indecent and so dirty, and Alice was just such a loving, shining light.”
In addition to being an avid runner in her free time, including finishing the New York Marathon in November, Stewart also served on the senior advisory committee at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, where she was previously a fellow.
In October 2020, Stewart reflected on her role as a conservative voice on CNN and in politics at large.
“There are different facets of conservatism these days,” she told the Harvard Political Review. “There are people who are supportive of Donald Trump, and there are never-Trumpers. I support the president, but there are a lot of things I don’t agree with regarding his tone and demeanor, and I call him out on it when necessary.”
She continued, “I provide my perspective on the politics of the day from my conservative viewpoint. My position at CNN is to be a conservative voice yet an independent thinker. 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 this president. I bring a perspective that I think CNN appreciates.”
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