As the 2024 showdown between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump approaches, the country’s top political anchors are preparing for one of their longest and most intense work weeks of the year.
For these news personalities, election night means hours of live reporting, intricate data analysis and connecting with millions of viewers — all while balancing the pressure of delivering accurate, real-time updates.
Caffeine: The fuel of choice
Caffeine is a go-to staple for election night anchors like CNN’s John King, who admitted to drinking “probably too much coffee during election week.” As he told USA Today, “I start early in the morning, and I just keep going.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki made the switch from Diet Coke to Dunkin’ coffee, describing it to USA Today as “very smooth and very drinkable,” adding, “I don’t even know why, but I started drinking coffee a few years ago, and now that’s the main thing.”
CNN’s Dana Bash has her own caffeine routine, although she prefers a cup of English breakfast tea. As she recently told Katie Couric, “I used to be a coffee person, but the smell of coffee made me really nauseous when I was pregnant 14 years ago, and I just never went back.”
Kornacki, who recalled “barely sleeping” during the 2020 presidential election, has a strategy this year to find “little pockets to go clear [his] head” by taking walks in New York City between coverage segments.
Election prep
As Election Day approaches, King emphasized that each day of preparation counts, telling USA Today that he will “study, prepare [and] be ready physically,” acknowledging that election week is an extended process, not just a single night.
Hemmer, who has covered every election cycle for Fox News since 2005, dedicates hours each day to combing through the data he’s collected, often changing his scenery to keep things fresh.
As he described it to USA Today, Hemmer spends time at his favorite study spots around New York City, including a historic library in downtown Manhattan with “beautiful wooden tables and windows.”
He added, “99% of what I prepare for I will never put on the air, but you don’t know what that 1% is.”
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