Chester James Carville, Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political consultant, commentator, educator, actor, attorney, media personality, and prominent liberal pundit. Carville gained national attention for his work as the lead strategist of the successful presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Carville was a co-host of CNN's Crossfire until its final broadcast in June 2005. Since its cancellation, he has appeared on CNN's news program, The Situation Room. As of 2009, he hosts a weekly program on XM Radio titled 60/20 Sports with Luke Russert, son of the late Tim Russert who hosted NBC's Meet The Press. He is married to Republican political consultant Mary Matalin. In 2009, he began teaching political science at Tulane University.

Carville, the oldest of eight children, was born in Carville, Louisiana, the son of Lucille (née Norman), a former school teacher who sold World Book Encyclopedias door-to-door, and Chester James Carville, a postmaster as well as owner of a general store. He is of Irish and Cajun heritage. James attended Ascension Catholic High School in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

He received his undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees from Louisiana State University. He served for two years in the United States Marine Corps.