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Midterm losers and retired politicians sign on as political pundits

Former politicians John Kasich, Trey Gowdy, Andrew Gillum and Claire McCaskill.
Former politicians John Kasich, Trey Gowdy, Andrew Gillum and Claire McCaskill. Photos: Getty Images

Fox News announced Wednesday it signed former Republican congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina as a contributor, adding to the slew of recently retired politicians making their TV debut in 2019.

Why it matters: TV news is giving its viewers some fresh faces ahead of 2020, and as Axios' Mike Allen noted Tuesday, some of the loudest political voices are becoming those who lost in the 2018 midterms.

The lineup:

  • Recently-departed Gov. John Kasich and Sen. Jeff Flake were snagged by CNN and CBS News, respectively. Both are Republican and unabashed critics of the Trump administration.
  • Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) recently joined NBC News and MSNBC as political contributors. Both McCaskill and Curbelo were beat in close elections.
  • CNN also announced Tuesday the network is adding former Democrat Andrew Gillum, who lost to Ron DeSantis in a highly-contested Florida gubernatorial race.
  • Earlier this month, former Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah) and retired Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) were also added onto CNN. Love lost to Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams by less than 1,000 votes.

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