Fox News Host Marie Harf Leaves Network to Join Presidential Campaign

Fox News host is leaving the network to join the Seth Moulton campaign for president

Published: 5/10/2019, 4:17:32 PM EDT

Fox News Host Marie Harf Leaves Network to Join Presidential Campaign — Marie Harf, State Department spokeswoman, during a press briefing on June 1, 2015. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Fox News host Marie Harf has left the network to join a presidential campaign.

Harf, a left-leaning political commentator and host of Fox News Radio's "Benson and Harf" with Guy Benson, said she is joining the campaign of Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

Prior to joining the right-leaning network, Harf was communications adviser to John Kerry when he was secretary of state. Before joining the Obama administration, Kerry, a Democrat, served as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, the same state Moulton represents. Harf also advised former President Barack Obama in 2012.

In 2015, Harf was widely slammed for saying the United States couldn't kill off the terror group ISIS and indicated that the terrorists might just need jobs.

“We’re killing a lot of them and we’re going to keep killing more of them. So are the Egyptians, so are the Jordanians. They’re in this fight with us. But we cannot win this war by killing them. We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need in the medium—to longer term to go after the root causes that lead people to join these groups, whether it’s lack of opportunity for jobs,” Harf said.

“We can work with countries around the world to help improve their governance. We can help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people."

Benson issued a statement regarding Harf's departure, saying, "I wish my friend the very best of luck." Benson announced on May 9 that he'd be moving forward with his show without a co-host.

While speaking mostly favorably about Democrats and the Democratic Party during her time on Fox, she has criticized the party in the past.

“The DNC has to rebuild its image before 2020,” she said it's like ton the network in late 2017, referring to the Democratic National Committee and its president. “Tom Perez has some more work to do.”

Moulton launched his bid for the presidency in April, the 20th Democrat to do so. In a recent Monmouth University poll, Moulton garnered less than 1 percent of the vote. He also garnered support from fewer than 1 percent of the respondents in a recent Morning Consult poll.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) arrives for a community project and campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on April 23, 2019. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images) — Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) arrives for a community project and campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on April 23, 2019. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

According to the openly leftwing Daily Beast website, Moulton is planning to hire additional staffers in the coming weeks and travel to multiple states to try to generate enthusiasm for his bid.

Moulton is known as a divisive figure within the Democratic Party, having led a charge against House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2018. The bid failed and Pelosi retained her position.

Along with Harf, Moulton hired Cathy Coyle, who recently worked at the Harvard Kennedy School in several capacities, to serve as national finance director.

“We’re super excited about these new hires as we continue to expand both nationally and on the ground," Moulton's national press secretary Matt Corridoni told the Beast. "These resources will be a valuable asset to Seth and his mission to become president of the United States."