CNN Press Release - Jim Acosta has been named national political correspondent, it was announced today by Sam Feist, Washington bureau chief and senior vice president. Acosta begins his new assignment as national political correspondent immediately.

“Jim has been an outstanding addition to the political team,” said Feist. “He has emerged as one of the key reporters on the campaign trail and his astute reporting skills will only help to position the network to dominate this important election cycle.”

“Having grown up just outside of the nation’s capital, I’m very excited about this new assignment,” said Acosta. “I am honored to be part of CNN’s political team, which is second to none.”

In this new role, Acosta will work closely with the network’s political unit to provide coverage of the 2012 campaign including the primary races, the presidential debates, and the political conventions. He will also cover important stories on policy and culture for various CNN programs, including The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and John King, USA.

Previously, Acosta served as a CNN correspondent reporting from the field and within the beltway on a wide-range of national stories including, the 2010 midterm elections and 2008 presidential election, when he covered the campaigns of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John McCain and then-Sen. Barack Obama. In 2009, Acosta traveled to Cuba to report from Havana on the effects of the Obama administration’s policy change to American travel restrictions in that country. Prior to CNN, Acosta was a correspondent for CBS News, where he contributed to CBS Evening News and covered stories including the Iraq War from Baghdad, the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry and Hurricane Katrina.

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