Steve Kornacki

Overview

Steve Kornacki makes live numbers part of the television story. As chief data analyst for NBC News and NBC Sports, he works across election coverage and major sporting events, explaining how incoming results or changing scenarios affect the bigger picture. His work includes NBC’s election-night livestream known as Kornacki Cam.

His network television career began in 2012. He co-hosted MSNBC’s The Cycle before taking over Up the following year, and became a familiar presence at the election map. NBC’s biography describes his work interpreting voting patterns, exit polling and electoral returns, as well as guest-hosting programs across the network’s schedule. He was named a national political correspondent for NBC News Group in 2017.

Before those national assignments, Kornacki spent several years reporting on New Jersey politics and co-hosting a weekly program for News 12 New Jersey. He grew up in Groton, Massachusetts, and studied film and television at Boston University. He also wrote “The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism,” bringing a historical perspective to the political divisions he covers on television.

His sports work applies a similar approach to different questions. On Football Night in America, he has broken down NFL postseason possibilities and the effect individual games can have on the playoff picture. His racing assignments include events such as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Breeders’ Cup and Royal Ascot. He has also contributed to NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage.

An October 2026 NBCUniversal feature described an expanded weekly presence on Football Night in America, alongside his continuing election analysis. Kornacki’s NBC News author page lists contributions to TODAY, Meet the Press, NBC News NOW and the network’s digital platforms. The common thread is interpretation: helping viewers see what a set of changing figures does, and does not, establish.

Last updated November 7, 2026