Kristen Welker – NBC News journalist and 2020 presidential debate moderator Kristen Welker is no stranger to politics – her parents Julie and Harvey Welker are registered Democrats.
Both have donated to Democratic political candidates through the years, which prompted scrutiny from Donald Trump hours before the third and final presidential debate.
Who are Kristen Welker’s parents?
Kristen – now expecting a baby of her own – is the only child of Julie and Harvey Welker, who raised their daughter in Philadelphia.
Her mother Julie, a black woman, is a real estate who once ran for 5th City Council district in Philly, a Philly.com article reported in 1995.
Welker’s father Harvey, a white man, is a consulting engineer based in Pennsylvania, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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He attended Dartmouth College and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1965 before staying another two years to earn his masters in 1967.
Harvey played football while he was at Dartmouth, and Kristen shared a photo of her dad’s gridiron days in 2015.
What is their political affiliation?
Welker’s parents are registered Democrats who have donated to Democratic political campaigns since at least 1992, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Included among the politicians they’ve supported are Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren, former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama.
Harvey and Julie collectively donated more than $23,000 to Obama between 2008 and 2012, records show.
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Kristen Welker has faced scrutiny for Julie and Harvey’s political affiliation, most recently from President Trump, who accused her of being biased hours before the final debate.
Trump bashed Welker as “terrible and unfair” days before his final match-up with Biden.
He also accused her of partaking in “anti-Trump activism.”
“She’s always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters, but I’ll still play the game,” Trump said of Welker.
What is Kristen Welker’s political party?
Although Welker is registered to vote in Washington DC, she isn’t affiliated with any political party.
NBC confirmed to Politico that she’s been unaffiliated since she registered to vote in 2012.
The 44-year-old has been the White House correspondent for NBC News since 2011 and was caught on a live-camera “tipping off” a member of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign back in 2016.
Who is Kristen Welker’s husband?
Welker is married to John Hughes, a 47-year-old marketing executive at Merck.
John and Kristen got married in 2017 at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia, just a block from where they had their first date.
The couple now celebrates the anniversary of their first date every time it rolls around.
Kristen revealed on Instagram that they recreate it every year to remember that magical night all over.
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