Brianne Pfannenstiel

Pfannenstiel was born in Kansas in 1988 to parents Peggy Jo and Pat.^[2] She attended the University of Kansas, graduating in 2010 with a degree in Journalism.^[3] On October 11, 2016, her mother died of cancer at the age of 54.^[4]

After graduating from the University of Kansas, Pfannenstiel worked as a reporter for The Kansas City Star and Lawrence Journal-World, where she covered the 2010 United States elections.^[5] She joined the Kansas City Business Journal in 2013.^[6] In 2015, she relocated to Iowa to join The Des Moines Register. In the 2016 Iowa caucus cycle, Pfannenstiel initially covered the Scott Walker campaign, followed by the Donald Trump campaign.^[5]

Pfannenstiel was selected Chief Politics Reporter for the 2020 United States presidential election.^[7] Pfannenstiel has been featured on C-SPAN, and appeared twice as a guest on At This Hour with Kate Bolduan.^[8]

After co-moderating the seventh Democratic debate, Pfannenstiel was listed by Vox as a "Winner" of the debate.^[9] Google searches for Pfannenstiel also increased 4,200 percent during the debate.^[10]