Chris Stirewalt, a former top editor at Fox News who was ousted from the network following the 2020 presidential election, has been hired by Nexstar Media Group to serve as political editor for its cable news channel NewsNation.
As part of his job, Stirewalt will provide what NewsNation, in an announcement on Tuesday, described as “balanced and accurate political analysis” throughout the election season. He joins the channel following the beginning of its broadcast partnership with Decision Desk HQ to provide viewers with election data and exclusive polling results for the 2022 midterm primaries and general election.
“Chris Stirewalt’s analytical abilities are the best in the business and his insights during election season will prove to be an invaluable resource for viewers,” said Michael Corn, president of news at NewsNation.
Stirewalt was part of the decision desk team at Fox that made the decision to call Arizona for Joe Biden on election night 2020. He left the network shortly thereafter. The relatively early race call infuriated former President Trump and his top aides, who reportedly complained directly to Fox leadership about the call.
Stirewalt has said he was “proud of our being first to project” Biden would win Arizona on Nov. 3 and has since criticized Trump and his allies in conservative media.
“The 2022 midterms are drawing massive interest from voters, so there’s a tremendous need for analysis and forecasting that isn’t addled with partisan agendas,” Stirewalt said in a statement on Tuesday. “That’s why I’m so proud to be a part of NewsNation’s growing team. Our shared commitment is to being the first with election results, but never at the cost of accuracy or fairness.”
NewsNation recently hired longtime Washington Post columnist George Will to serve as a senior contributor and leading pundit as part of its political coverage.
NewsNation, which is owned by The Hill’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group, is a cable outlet based in Chicago and has launched a new slate of prime-time programming in recent months as it looks to expand its reach through the cable news landscape.