Stewart frequent CNN face, voice

WASHINGTON — Three years ago, Alice Stewart was trudging through the snows of Des Moines in search of Iowa caucus magic. Now, she’s based in Washington, bolstering CNN’s political coverage. Thus far, it’s been an enjoyable transition for the former KARK-TV weekend anchor and longtime aide to former Gov. Mike Huckabee. She signed on with the Atlanta-based channel in July 2016, just in time to help with its coverage of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Since then, she’s made regular appearances on the airwaves. “I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work on the communications front lines in the last three presidential elections and I look forward [to] using that experience as a part of [the] fantastic CNN political team in analyzing the 2020 race,” she said in an email. “CNN has always been the gold standard in terms of election coverage and it will be exciting to join my colleagues in covering the candidates on the campaign train, on debate stages and on the airwaves as they get their message out.” Stewart, who lived in Little Rock for 17 years before heading East, helped Huckabee win the 2008 Iowa caucus. She saw plenty of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, as a staffer first for Huckabee, then for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The next race will be crowded, she predicts. “I expect to see a large and diverse Democrat field of candidates in 2020, which I believe is a positive thing for voters,” she said. “It’s too early to tell if President Trump will have a GOP primary challenger, I believe that will depend on the outcome of the [Robert] Mueller probe and the status of the economy later this year. If President Trump does run, I would not count him out.”