Longtime CNN Anchor Announces Surprising Run For Congress

Longtime CNN contributor John Avlon announced Friday that he will be leaving the network in a move that came as a surprise to many.

During Friday’s installment of CNN This Morning, his colleagues Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly said their goodbyes and wished Avlon good luck after announcing that it was his last day. “You’re such a joy,” Harlow said. “Not only do you make history fun for us. I learn from you every day, and you’re such a good human. And that’s what matters.”

“Been coming into Hudson Yards in the pre-dawn for years to work with the talented New Day/CTM team and the best crew. One last early AM arrival for now,” the longtime CNN contributor wrote in an X post of his own. Avlon had worked at CNN as a senior political analyst and anchor at the network since January 2010 after previously working as an editor for The Daily Beast.

Hours after Avlon’s departure was announced, Puck News reported that he will be running for Congress in New York’s First Congressional District, which encompasses the eastern half of Long Island. The seat — which currently holds a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of R +3 — is currently held by U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican. It was previously held by popular Trump ally Lee Zeldin, who left congress in order to launch a bid for governor that was largely credited with boosting Republican turnout statewide.

SCOOP @PuckNews: John Avlon, the CNN anchor and senior political analyst, intends to run for Congress this year in New York’s 1st congressional district, according to sources with knowledge of his plans.

Full details here: https://t.co/6oQCvs6QNp

& more in tonight’s In The Room

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) February 9, 2024

Avlon’s departure follows a long line of CNN staffing shakeups since former network president Jeff Zucker announced his resignation in February 2022. The network also went through a number of changes following the short reign of former president Chris Licht, who attempted to pull CNN in a more centrist direction after the far-left tenure of Zucker.

The network previously cancelled its longest running program, Reliable Sources, and also bid farewell to its host Brian Stelter in August 2022. White House correspondent John Harwood went on to abruptly leave the network in September of that year as Licht sought to make changes.

In what was perhaps the most notable departure, Don Lemon was fired this past April after a rocky string of months that saw him demoted from his primetime hosting gig. The end came when Lemon — then demoted to the network’s morning show — said that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was no longer “in her prime.”

Licht was ultimately fired from his position in June, which was followed by the departure of two network executives that same day.