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Tara Setmayer
Born
Tara Olivia Setmayer

(1975-09-09) September 9, 1975 (age 49)
Education Paramus High School, New Jersey
Alma mater George Washington University (BA)
Years active 1998–present
Employer CNN, ABC
Political party Republican (1993–2020)
Independent (2020–present)
Spouse(s)
Marcelle Love
(m. 2013)

Tara Olivia Setmayer (born September 9, 1975) is a well-known political expert and commentator. She is the co-founder and CEO of The Seneca Project. Tara has worked as a political commentator for CNN and a contributor for ABC News. She also used to be a communications director for the Republican Party on Capitol Hill.

Tara has appeared on popular TV shows like ABC's The View and Good Morning America. She was also a guest on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. In January 2020, she became a special guest expert at the Harvard Institute of Politics. She also worked with The Lincoln Project as a senior advisor and hosted a show called The Breakdown until June 2024.

Since 2020, Tara has been a scholar at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. She narrated a three-part documentary called Dismantling Democracy. This documentary aired on PBS in September 2020 and can now be streamed online. After working with the Republican Party for 27 years, Tara Setmayer publicly left the party in November 2020.

Early Life and Education

Tara Setmayer was born in 1975 in Queens, New York. She grew up in Paramus, a town in northern New Jersey. She is an only child and was raised by her single mother, Deborah. Her mother was a Broadway dancer who left her career to raise Tara.

Tara's family has lived in Paramus for a long time. Her grandfather, Emil Setmayer, worked for the Paramus Police Department for 40 years, becoming a captain. He also volunteered with the Paramus Fire Department for 71 years.

Tara went to Paramus High School and graduated in 1993. After high school, she attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There, she studied political science, focusing on public policy and journalism. Tara has a mixed background: her mother is of German and Italian descent, and her father is of Afro-Guatemalan descent.

Tara's Career in Politics and Media

In the early 2000s, Tara Setmayer worked as a research fellow and communications specialist for CURE. This group focused on how social policies affected inner cities and people in need. She also trained Republicans who wanted to run for public office through an organization called GOPAC.

For more than two years, Tara worked in South Florida. She helped people with issues like finding affordable housing and getting services for homeless children. She even helped start a faith-based program for the homeless.

From 2006 to 2013, Tara worked in the United States House of Representatives. She was the Communications Director for Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher from California. In this role, she handled issues related to immigration and law enforcement. She also led a national effort to help free Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

Media Appearances and Commentary

Tara was a regular guest on the PBS show To the Contrary, which discussed women's issues. She has been featured in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Ebony magazine. The Hill newspaper even included her in their "50 Most Beautiful" list in 2010.

She has also been a guest on radio shows like News & Notes and Tell Me More on NPR. As a media commentator, she has appeared on many TV programs. These include shows on CNN, CNN International, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC, and HBO.

In 2017, Tara joined the board of directors for Stand Up Republic. This non-profit group was formed to protect democratic values after the 2016 election.

Tara is known for her direct and honest comments on political issues that affect America's future. During the 2016 presidential election, she was a strong conservative critic of Donald Trump. She often challenged the claims made by his supporters. Vulture.com recognized her as one of the "Top 20 Election Coverage Stars" on TV in 2016.

Tara was a CNN political commentator from 2014 through the 2016 election. She regularly appeared on shows like New Day, Erin Burnett OutFront, Anderson Cooper 360°, and CNN Tonight with Don Lemon. She rejoined CNN as a commentator in January 2018 and continued until January 2021. Today, she often appears as a commentator on MSNBC and other news channels.

She has also written articles for Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg Opinion, The Daily Beast, NBC Think, and CNN.com. She is a frequent guest-host for The Michael Smerconish Program on SiriusXM.

Personal Life

In 2013, Tara Setmayer married Marcelle Love, who is a federal law enforcement officer. Both Tara and Marcelle are big fans of the New York Giants football team. They even named their cat after a famous Giants player, Tiki. They live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C..

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