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Seriously Sexy: Political Pundits

We are less than a week away from the U.S. presidential election, and we don’t know about you, but our election fatigue has reached fever pitch. Frankly, it’s surprising we haven’t lost our collective minds before now, what with all the gay-bashing and vagina-hijacking and chit-chat about “legitimate rape” that has been going on since the Republican primaries began last year. Luckily, we have been able to turn to some of the smartest, funniest, most well-informed women in the country to help keep us sane. So we’re devoting this week’s Seriously Sexy column to 9 forward-thinking political pundits who make us swoon with their big brains.

Rachel Maddow (@Maddow) – From hosting a radio talk show on Air America to anchoring MSNBC’s election coverage, it has been a stellar couple of years for Rachel Maddow. During this election season, she has been the champion of gay folks and lady folks, the go-to voice of reason and responsibility. And we’re counting on her to hold our hands next Tuesday night.

Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) – After guest-hosting The Rachel Maddow Show and becoming a regular MSNBC contributor, Melissa Harris-Perry landed her own show this year. Perry is a professor at heart and we adore the way she’s as eager to learn from her panelists as she is to teach her audience. She’s a huge supporter of LGBT rights, and she approaches the discussion from a place of personal experience: Her niece is a lesbian who suffered at the hands of high school bullies.

Samantha Bee (@iamsambee) – Samantha Bee has always been one of the lone female voices on The Daily Show. We don’t see her quite as often as we’d like, but her live reporting from this year’s Republican National Convention was one of the highlights of election season. Honestly, we won’t be satisfied until she’s anchoring her own show, but for now, we rest in her ability to shine a light on the most absurd elements of conservatism while keeping a straight face.

Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) – Founder of Wonkette, frequent guest of Rachel Maddow, political columnist at The Guardian, master Twitter-er. Ana Marie Cox wears lots of hats and she looks good in all of them. She has been one of the most active, astute, hilarious Twitter commentators throughout the election, live-tweeting every moment of every debate, all the way back to that time when Newt Gingrich said he wanted to put a colony on the moon.

Ali Davis (@Ali_Davis) – You know Ali Davis from her Feminist Friday column right here on AfterEllen.com. Over the past several months, she has kept us up to date on everything from Todd “legitimate rape” Akin to Pussy Riot’s transport to Russian prison camp, and she’s done it with uncommon empathy and wit. Ali has also set herself apart as one of the funniest, most informed tweeters on Twitter during the presidential race. You’ll definitely want to make sure you’re following her when the election results start to trickle in next week. She’ll make you laugh, we promise.

Michelle Bernard (@MichelleBernard) – A true believer in the greatness of America, Bernard has spent much of this election season wondering why the Republican Party has shut out women, people of color, and gays who espouse traditional “conservative” values, like self-reliance, personal responsibility, and individual liberty, and traded them in for backwards-thinking Baptist values. She is a voice for voiceless women and a regular legal consultant on every major news network.

Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) – Michelle Goldberg’s books, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism and The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World, tackle the issues of government mandated religion and women’s rights through the lens of investigative journalism. This election season, Goldberg has taken that conversation to Newsweek and The Daily Beast, where she writes regular columns that will make you stand up and cheer.

Krystal Ball (@KrystalBall1) – After losing a Congressional bid in Virgina in 2010, Ball has become a regular contributor at MSNBC and The Huffington Post. Ball is an articulate, impassioned feminist. She funded the website that encouraged advertisers to drop Rush Limbaugh after his misogynistic comments about Sandra Fluke, and she very nearly loses her mind every time someone suggests she can’t be a real journalist because she’s too pretty. The “whole idea that female sexuality and serious work are incompatible” infuriates her, and she pushes back against it every chance she gets.

Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) – After the Republican National Convention, gay lady Sally Kohn wrote one of the most viral political posts of this election season. “Paul Ryan’s Speech in Three Words” was the headline, and “dazzling,” deceiving,” and “distracting” were the three words. What’s remarkable about the post is that Kohn wrote it for Fox News, where she is a regular (progressive!) commentator. Kohn has really made a name for her self this year, even earning a profile in The New York Times last Sunday. We’re sure this is only the beginning of her political punditry career, and we cannot wait to see where she goes.

Those are just a few of our favorite Seriously Sexy pundits from this election season. Who are yours?

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