Who is Dana Bash, the journalist who will interview Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on CNN? Career, family...

Dana Bash and Jake Tapper moderated the CNN debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in late June, which eventually led the president to drop out of the 2024 race. Now, Bash will sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in their first interview since the Democratic party officially nominated them to lead the ticket in November.

READ MORE: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz interview with CNN: date, time and how to watch online and on TV

The decision made by Joe Biden to endorse his vice president has energized the Democratic base, but now the voters want to hear directly from the candidates on what they plan to do if elected in November. The interview with Dana Bash is critical as many party leaders have called on Harris to sit down for an interview or host a town hall to give her the stage to present the Democratic case and how it differs from that being put forward by the GOP. By choosing to do an interview with Bash, out of the many outlets and journalists who have asked for that level of access, the campaign is signaling that they feel comfortable with her and trust that the conversation will be productive and informative.

Dana Bash’s education and professional origins

Bash has had a long career at CNN, beginning in 1993 when she graduated from George Washington University with a degree in political communication. Her first job at the news organization was as a library assistant for the Washington DC Bureau. Before stepping into a role in front of the camera, Bash worked as an editor and producer on CNN programs like “Inside Politics with Wolf Blitzer” and the now-canceled “Evans & Novak.”

She began commentating in the early 2000s, securing herself a slot in CNN’s election coverage in most major elections since 2000. She earned a Peabody Award in 2008 for her election coverage, documented in “America Votes 2008.” As she gained more experience, Bash was tapped to take on greater responsibilities at the network, becoming chief political correspondent in August 2015, just as the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was underway. After being promoted, Bash moderated the Republican presidential primary held the following month in September 2015 and would moderate five additional debates before that election cycle ended. In 2020, Bash was tapped to moderate two presidential debates alongside Jake Tapper and their former colleague Don Lemon. The first was an early Democratic presidential debate split over two nights because of the nearly two dozen candidates invited to participate. Bash, Tapper, and Ilia Calderón also hosted the last Democratic debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders after all the other candidates had suspended their campaigns to consolidate support behind then-candidate Biden.

So far this year, Bash has moderated one debate between Republican hopefuls vying for the White House or attempting to raise their national profile.

Since 2021, Bash has hosted “State of the Union” alongside Jake Tapper, and since 2023, she has hosted “Inside Politics,” replacing John King. Earlier this year, she announced that she would release a book on the presidential election of 1872, titled “America’s Deadliest Election.”

On a personal level, Bash has been married twice, and is a mother to one child.