Donna Brazile facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Donna Brazile
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| Acting Chair of the Democratic National Committee | |
| In office July 28, 2016 – February 25, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
| Succeeded by | Tom Perez |
| In office April 5, 2011 – May 4, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Tim Kaine |
| Succeeded by | Debbie Wasserman Schultz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Donna Lease Brazile
December 15, 1959 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Louisiana State University (BA) |
Donna Lease Brazile (born December 15, 1959) is an American political expert. She helps with political campaigns and analyzes political events. She was the acting leader of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) two times.
Currently, Donna Brazile is a contributor for ABC News. She used to work for Fox News and CNN. She left CNN in October 2016. This happened after it was revealed she shared some debate questions with Hillary Clinton's campaign. This was during the 2016 United States presidential election.
Donna Brazile is a member of the Democratic Party. She was the first African-American woman to manage a major presidential campaign. This was for Al Gore in the year 2000. She also worked on campaigns for other Democratic candidates. These included Jesse Jackson and Walter Mondale in 1984. She also worked for Dick Gephardt in 1988. She was the acting chair of the DNC in spring 2011. She held this role again from July 2016 to February 2017.
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Early Life and Education
Donna Brazile was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the third of nine children. Her parents were Jean Marie (Brown) and Lionel Joseph Brazile. She became interested in politics when she was nine years old. This happened after a local candidate promised to build a playground.
She went to Louisiana State University (LSU). In 1981, she earned a bachelor's degree there. After college, she worked for groups in Washington, D.C. She helped make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday. As a teenager, she volunteered for the Jimmy Carter–Walter Mondale presidential campaign in 1976. She also helped with their 1980 campaign while at LSU.
Working in Politics
Donna Brazile has worked on many presidential campaigns. She worked for Jesse Jackson in 1984. She also helped Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. In 1988, she worked for Dick Gephardt.
After Gephardt lost in 1988, Brazile worked for Michael Dukakis's campaign. In 1988, she made comments about personal rumors involving George H. W. Bush. The Dukakis campaign quickly disagreed with her remarks. She was then removed from the campaign staff.
In the 1990s, Brazile worked for Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. She helped with the budget and laws for the District of Columbia. She also advised Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
In 1999, Brazile became the deputy campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. She was later promoted to campaign manager. This made her the first African-American woman to manage a major party presidential campaign.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she joined the board of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. This group helped Louisiana recover from the disaster.
Democratic National Committee Roles
After the close 2000 presidential election, Brazile became the chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute.
2008 Election Involvement
In the 2008 election, she was a "superdelegate." This meant she had a special vote at the Democratic Convention. She did not say which candidate she supported at first. She joked, "Look, I'm a woman, so I like Hillary. I'm black; I like Obama. But I'm also grumpy, so I like John McCain."
Some states, like Florida and Michigan, held their primary elections earlier than DNC rules allowed. Brazile said, "We need to send a message that you can't defy the rules." She believed in following the rules.
2012 Election Involvement
In spring 2011, Donna Brazile was the interim chair of the Democratic National Committee for several weeks. She led the organization during a change in leadership. This was when Tim Kaine left to run for the U.S. Senate. Debbie Wasserman Schultz then became the new chair. Brazile returned to her role as vice-chair after that.
2016 Election Involvement
Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned as DNC chair on July 24, 2016. Donna Brazile then became the interim chairperson of the DNC.
Brazile worked on a plan to encourage more people to vote in cities like Chicago and New Orleans. This was to help increase voter turnout.
Sharing Debate Questions
Emails released by WikiLeaks showed that Donna Brazile sent an email on March 5, 2016. This email was to John Podesta and Jennifer Palmieri from Hillary Clinton's campaign. The email mentioned a question for Hillary Clinton about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. At a debate in Flint, Clinton received a similar question from an audience member.
Another email from March 12, 2016, showed Brazile discussing a question about the death penalty. The next day, Clinton received a similar question at a CNN town hall debate.
Brazile first denied sharing any questions. She said the information was false. Jake Tapper, a former CNN colleague, said sharing questions was "very, very upsetting." Brazile later said her conscience was "very clear." She also said she wished she knew more about cybersecurity.
On October 31, 2016, The New York Times reported that CNN had ended its relationship with Donna Brazile. This was because the emails showed she shared questions with the Clinton campaign. CNN said they were "completely uncomfortable" with her actions.
On March 17, 2017, Brazile admitted to sharing potential town hall topics with the Clinton campaign. She wrote in Time magazine that it was a "mistake I will forever regret." She explained that her job was to help all Democratic candidates look good.
In her 2017 book Hacks, Brazile wrote about these events.
Other Work and Activities
University Teaching and Affiliations
Donna Brazile has served on various boards. This includes the National Democratic Institute (NDI), which works to ensure fair elections. She was an election monitor in Kenya in 2022. She has also taught at the University of Maryland, College Park. She was a fellow at Harvard University and teaches at Georgetown University.
Commentator and Author
Brazile was a regular political commentator on CNN shows like The Situation Room. She also appeared on New Day and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon. She is also a contributor to NPR and ABC News.
On March 18, 2019, Brazile became a contributor for Fox News. She said she was "delighted" to join Fox News.
In 2004, she published her book, Cooking with Grease – Stirring the Pots in American Politics. This book is about her life and work in politics. She also co-authored For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics (2018).
Hacks: The Inside Story
Her book, Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House, was published on November 7, 2017. The book is about her experiences with the Clinton campaign.
In an excerpt from the book, Brazile wrote about an agreement between the Clinton campaign and the DNC. She said it allowed Clinton to have control of the party early on. However, in an interview, Brazile later said she found no evidence that the Democratic primaries were rigged.
Brazile wrote that she considered replacing Clinton as the Democratic nominee after Clinton fainted in September 2016. She thought about choosing Joe Biden instead. More than 100 former Clinton campaign staff members wrote a letter. They said they did not recognize the campaign Brazile described in her book.
Acting Roles
Donna Brazile is a member of SAG-AFTRA. She has appeared as herself in three episodes of the CBS show The Good Wife. She also appeared in one episode of the Netflix show House of Cards. She also had a small role in the movie Army of the Dead.
Personal Life
Donna Brazile is a Catholic. She once wanted to be a priest when she was a child. However, her mother told her that girls could not be priests.
On July 9, 2025, Brazile became an honorary member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
See also
In Spanish: Donna Brazile para niños
