Introduction
Christopher Michael "Chris" Cillizza (/sᵻˈlɪzə/; born February 20, 1976) is an American journalist and political commentator. He writes at The Fix, a daily political weblog for the Washington Post. He is a regular contributor to the Post on political issues, a frequent panelist on Meet the Press, and is an MSNBC political analyst. Cillizza is also a regular co-host on The Tony Kornheiser Show.
Early life and education
Cillizza was born and raised in Marlborough, Connecticut. Cillizza attended the Loomis Chaffee School and graduated in 1994. He attended Georgetown University from 1994 to 1998, where he graduated with a BA in English. He currently resides in Falls Church, Virginia with his wife and two children. He is of Sicilian and Irish descent.
Career
Cillizza began his career at The Cook Political Report and, later, Roll Call prior to joining The Washington Post. For the Cook Report he covered gubernatorial races and southern House races. He wrote a column on politics for Congress Daily. During his four years at Roll Call, which he joined in June 2001, he reported on campaign politics from the presidential to the congressional level, finishing his time at Roll Call as the paper's White House correspondent. His freelance work has appeared in a variety of publications including the Atlantic Monthly, Washingtonian, and Slate. He has also been a guest on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. After multiple guest appearances on the network, he was named an MSNBC Political Analyst. He is also a frequent panelist on Meet the Press.
The Fix
Cillizza founded the blog The Fix in October 2005, and has written for it on a regular basis ever since. The blog's focus is American electoral politics, with Cillizza commenting on gubernatorial, Congressional and presidential elections. He also hosts the weekly Fix live chat. He hosts and oversees a monthly trivia contest called "Politics and Pints" at the Washington, D.C. bar Capitol Lounge.
Media
From 2007 to 2008, Cillizza was a co-host of the MySpace/MTV Presidential Dialogues, which hosted John McCain, Barack Obama, and others in the groundbreaking live-streamed, interactive Presidential event series. Cillizza and fellow Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank appeared in a series of humor videos called Mouthpiece Theater, hosted by the Washington Post. An outcry followed a video in which, during a discussion of the White House "Beer Summit", they chose new brands for a number of people, including "Mad Bitch Beer" for Hillary Clinton. Both men apologized for the video and the series was canceled.
In July 2012, Broadway Books (a division of Penguin Random House) released his book, The Gospel According to the Fix. Journalist Chuck Todd described it as "a great read and guide for both amateur and professional political junkies alike." Written in a blog-like format, it features lists such as "The 10 Best/Worst Negative Ads", as well as an in-depth look at the "deep personal hatreds that politics provoke" and predictions for the 2012 and 2016 presidential election.