On Nov. 7, we learned that Joe Biden won the presidential election. But I didn’t fully believe the news until I heard it from Steve Kornacki, America’s newest sweetheart.
Like much of the nation, I had come to feel what social media has dubbed #KornackiThirst. The MSNBC elections analyst became the breakout star of 2020 election season for his sui generis breed of geeky enthusiasm, for his appearance-disheveling work ethic, for his veneration of data over politics.
And the thirst is still on. Just days after Kornacki breathlessly called the election for Biden on the air, GQ reported that sales of the Gap khakis Kornacki always wears — he says he owns multiple pairs — went up 90% in a single day. Not a week after that, People Magazine dubbed him one of the “sexiest men of 2020.”
Election update: @Gap says it saw a spike in sales of khaki pants because of Steve Kornacki’s election week coverage and his trademark look. This officially makes @SteveKornacki not just a “chartthrob” but also a “fashion icon and trendsetter” #kornahkis @AymanMSNBC pic.twitter.com/xD4DbQLcjk
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) November 11, 2020
His very bearing sparks affectionate teasing: the rolled-up sleeves, as if cuffs might slow things down; the calculator whipped out of a pocket, as if no behind-the-scenes numbers guy could keep up with Kornacki’s urgent arithmetic needs. When he drew with his finger directly on MSNBC’s electoral college map, Kornacki was writing fire on the sky. He was mapping out his heart and soul for us, and what was inside were numbers — cold, hard numbers.
The 41-year-old native of Groton, Mass., has the investigative pedigree to back up his wonkish onscreen persona, with a book — “The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism” — and bylines at a range of major newspapers. He also served as politics editor at Salon.
Maybe for you Kornacki’s veneration of data inspires not admiration but alarm. Is his empiricism without ethics? If the only love he shows is for numbers, might he have reported a Trump or Biden victory with the same mien, the same fervor?
But I see Kornacki’s passionate dispassion in parallel to Biden’s call for healing unity. Kornacki is an elections analyst for all Americans, not just those who watch MSNBC. His zeal says only, “This race matters” — an assertion with which any concerned citizen can agree. In acting this way, he bolsters the legitimacy of the newscast as democratic institution at a time when even reported facts polarize.
Still, looked at from a partisan point of view, Kornacki outperformed Biden in one way that might point a way forward for the Democratic Party. Trump’s fans value his refusal to kowtow, his unfiltered rhetoric. Whatever Trump said, it came from him, not from endless focus groups or image consultants. His voters believed they knew the man they were voting for.
Kornacki outshone his peers and higher-ranking news anchors with his own kind of authenticity. He made no attempt to project the paternalistic aura of Walter Cronkite, the supposedly comforting steadiness that says, “No matter how intense or upsetting the news gets, I will be your rock. You can rely on me.”
In 2020, that’s not enough for either voters or news audiences. We seek not just authority, but genuineness — not just someone we can look up to, but someone whose core we can see. Kornacki was never too cool for that. His eyes bulged. His eyebrows were locked in the skyrocket position, his brow as crinkled as an accordion’s folds. He danced back and forth before the election map, his pointer finger his épée, inconclusive data his only opponent. When he landed on a particular word or syllable, his arms beat an invisible drum for emphasis, playing a rhythm Americans longed to hear.
As the Democratic Party looks to its future, it would do well to remember #KornackiThirst, how one unassuming math whiz made us believe again. He humbled himself before the race, before journalistic truth, before the responsibility of the job, offering a model of sincerity that future political leaders might adopt.
But for now, we need to figure out how to keep the “Kornacki Cam” rolling without having to wait till the next election. One idea: Comedian Leslie Jones emerged on Twitter as one of his biggest fans; perhaps the former “Saturday Night Live” star could return to the show to meet her idol on air.
I hope Steve is in his favorite PJs and resting so easy after his wonderful service to the country!! Sleep tight my calculator holding prince!! #kornackiThirst pic.twitter.com/nqHsdzddZt
— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) November 8, 2020
Perhaps they could co-host “Weekend Update,” electoral college map and all. Or perhaps Kornacki could apply his statistics smarts to other subjects — how well Jones’ jokes play in each voting district, for instance. From there, Kornacki and his map might have lessons for all of us, the way Elizabeth Warren applied her “I have a plan for that” mantra, via Twitter exchange, to the love life of comedian Ashley Nicole Black.
In any case, we need to keep Kornacki a fixture in our lives. I’m sure the numbers will back me up.
