Charlie Cook

Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Endowed Chair in Political Communication | 240 Hodges Hall | charlescook@lsu.edu

Biography

Charlie Cook is the founder of The Cook Political Report, as well as a political analyst and columnist for National Journal.

In 1984, at the age of 30, Cook started The Cook Political Report, an independent, non-partisan newsletter that:

The New York Times once said was 鈥渁 newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative.鈥�
Then-CBS Evening News Anchor Bob Schieffer has called, 鈥渢he bible of the political community.鈥�
Al Hunt, then Washington Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal, has referred to Cook as 鈥渢he Picasso of election analysis.鈥�

Cook was a co-author of the 2020, 2022 and 2024 editions of 鈥淭he Almanac of American Politics.鈥� He has appeared many times on ABC鈥檚鈥淲orld News Tonight鈥� and 鈥淭his Week,鈥� 鈥淭he CBS Evening News,鈥� 鈥淭he NBC Nightly News,鈥� on CNN鈥檚鈥淚nside Politics,鈥� and, after being recruited by Tim Russert in the early 1990s, over a dozen times on NBC鈥檚鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� now the longest running show on television.

Over the years, Cook served as an Election Night analyst for CBS News, CNN and NBC News, including many election nights on Decision Desk in New York.

In 2010, Cook was the co-recipient of the American Political Science Association鈥檚 prestigious Carey McWilliams Award to honor 鈥渁 major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics."

In 2013, Cook served as a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard鈥檚 Kennedy School of Government.