Before tonight’s big New Hampshire debate with Republican presidential hopefuls, news is out that Rep. Michele Bachmann has a new national spokeswoman and national press aid.
Alice Stewart is a former Arkansas news anchor and is leaving a job with the state of Arkansas, where she was a deputy director of public affairs for the secretary of state, to join the Bachmann camp.
Fox News notes that Stewart had the same job with Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign, and that Bachmann “has commitments from Iowa field-hand Wes Enos and campaign manager Ed Rollins, [who] both filled the same roles with Huckabee’s campaign.”
Arkansas News quoted Stewart about the new job:
“It’s a great opportunity. I had a short window of opportunity to take advantage of it, and I did,” Stewart said in a telephone interview this afternoon with the Arkansas News Bureau from New Hampshire, where she was assisting Bachmann with her appearance at a Republican presidential debate tonight.
Sounds like it’s been a rough patch for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin, who just took over the elected position in January. Stewart is the third top aide to leave his office:
Teresa Belew, who was Martin’s executive assistant, resigned in protest, saying she had been directed to delete a sensitive e-mail rather than release it under a Freedom of Information request. Martin denied that anyone in his office had sought to evade the law.
Also, Princella Smith, who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican congressional candidate last year, resigned her job as Martin’s director of education after being cited for driving with a suspended driver’s license, having no vehicle license plate and driving without proof of insurance.
Stewart’s (outdated) bio from her web page:
Alice Stewart is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and national political commentator who has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. She is a frequent contributor to the Fox Forum. She works as a media consultant for numerous conservative groups and was an advisor during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Stewart is currently Campaign Manager for the Gilbert Baker for U.S. Senate Campaign.
She served as National Press Secretary to Governor Mike Huckabee during his 2008 bid for the Republican Nomination for president. She is credited with generating a tremendous earned media campaign for the former Arkansas Governor. She handled the pressures of national and international media while traveling on the campaign trail
Stewart served as Press Secretary for Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. She was responsible for responding to state and national journalists and handling the daily media schedule for the governor.
Prior to entering the world of politics, Stewart worked as a television news anchor and reporter in Little Rock, Arkansas and Savannah, Georgia. She began her journalism career as an associate producer and field producer in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stewart is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. She’s attended West Georgia College and graduated from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia.
