Election 2020

Basil Smikle Jr. has been a political strategist and policy advisor for almost 20 years, with local, national, and international experience. He lectures at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and Teachers College, and he was most recently the Distinguished Lecturer of Politics and Public Policy at the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies. Dr. Smikle holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Education and an MPA from Columbia University, and received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University. A familiar face on MSNBC, CNN, NY1, and other media outlets, frequent appearances highlight his insights into electoral politics and governance.

Charlie Cook is the Editor and Publisher of The Cook Political Report, and a political analyst for the National Journal Group. Charlie is also a political analyst for NBC News.

In 1984, Charlie founded the independent, nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Now, with a staff of six, it is a publication that the New York Times once said was “a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative” while CBS News’ Bob Schieffer called it “the bible of the political community.”

S.E. Cupp is a political commentator and host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN. She is co-author of the book Why You’re Wrong About the Right and author of the book Losing Our Religion. Before CNN, where she also co-hosted “Crossfire,” Ms. Cupp co-hosted “The Cycle” at MSNBC and “Real News” at The Blaze. She has a nationally syndicated column at the New York Daily News and has written for dozens of other publications, including the New York Times and Glamour. Ms. Cupp is a regular guest on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and was a consultant on the HBO show “The Newsroom.”

Former Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill – unindicted and undefeated – to pursue a career as a writer. In addition to writing two critically acclaimed satires of Washington, he heads Cornell University’s nonpartisan Institute of Politics and Global Affairs in New York City. Mr. Israel was a member of Congress for 16 years. He left in 2017, having served as House Democrats’ chief political strategist from 2011 to 2015 as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. President Bill Clinton called him “one of the most thoughtful Members of Congress” — which, Mr. Israel notes, isn’t really saying much at all. He is a regular political commentator on MSNBC and his insights appear regularly in The New York Times and The Atlantic, as well as The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. He was profiled on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and appeared on the CBS institution “60 Minutes.” As the Director of Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, Mr. Israel leads the only academically based institute of politics in the New York City metropolitan area. Its mission is to raise the discourse and foster a deeper understanding of political issues and geopolitics.