BREAKING: CNN political pundit Alice Stewart dies suddenly after ‘medical emergency’: authorities

CNN political commentator Alice Stewart has died at 58. A medical emergency is believed to have been the cause.  

According to CNN, Stewart's body was found outside in the Bellevue neighborhood of northern Virginia and officers believe it was a medical emergency that led to the death. No foul play is suspected at this time.  

“Alice was a very dear friend and colleague to all of us at CNN,” the network CEO Mark Thompson said in an email to staff on 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.” 

In addition to her career as a commentator, Stewart was also a political adviser who worked on several GOP campaigns during her life. She was born in Atlanta on March 11, 1966. She started in the state as a local reporter before moving to Arkansas to be a news anchor. Stewart then went onto working as the communications director for then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Stewart then assisted Huckabee's in his presidential run in 2008 in a similar communications role. In addition to working for Huckabee, she worked on several GOP campaign teams as a comms director. Most recently, she worked for Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign.

In an interview with the Harvard Political Review, she spoke about her role at CNN as a conservative voice. “My position at CNN is to be a conservative voice yet an independent thinker,” Stewart said at the time. “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 [him]."