‘Does Wolf Blitzer Still Work at CNN?’ Viewers Wonder Where’s Wolf During Midterm Coverage — Here’s Where Wolf Is

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Perennial CNN election anchor Wolf Blitzer was conspicuously absent during Tuesday night’s midterm coverage, leading viewers to wonder: What happened to Wolf? We have the answer.

“Does Wolf Blitzer still work at #CNN?” asked Patch editor Jerry Barmash on Twitter.

“I miss Wolf Blitzer,” wrote political commentator Warren Kinsella. Many other viewers expressed similar sentiments, some unkindly, others wistfully.

So where is Wolf? According to New York Times media correspondent Michael Grynbaum, after nearly two decades as the stentorian-voiced face of CNN’s elections coverage, Blitzer’s torch has been passed to Jake Tapper:

On Tuesday, for the first general election night since 2004, Mr. Blitzer will not be the anchor entrusted with announcing CNN’s electoral projections during the network’s on-air coverage.

That responsibility now belongs to Jake Tapper. In fact, Mr. Blitzer may not appear on CNN during prime time at all. He went on the air at noon and was scheduled to participate in coverage until 4 p.m. on the East Coast.

For many viewers, Mr. Blitzer’s authoritative baritone has been as much a part of CNN’s election night furniture as John King’s “magic wall” and those whooshing on-screen graphics.

Grynbaum went on to add that “Mr. Blitzer’s changed role has received little notice, and casual viewers may discover it for the first time when they turn on their television sets or streaming apps on Tuesday night.”

Judging by early social media reaction, the nostalgia for Blitzer is there, but it’s not exactly a wave just yet. As of 8:30, none of the top 30 Twitter trending topics were Wolf-related, and Google Trends did not show an appreciable spike in Wolf searches.

CNN did have grizzled veterans on hand in the form of Chris Wallace and John King, who provided commentary and granular big board analysis of vote tallies, respectively, as the results rolled in hour after hour Tuesday night.