"How could I leave?": Jon Stewart says he may stay on at "The Daily Show" past election

Jon Stewart is not leaving "The Daily Show". . . at least for now.

The part-time host is on a hot streak after he won his 23rd Emmy on Sunday night for outstanding talk series for "The Daily Show." This would make Stewart's win the first in nearly a decade since his departure. Does this mean that there's the possibility he will prolong his once-a-week return when the election cycle is over? He said maybe . . . 

Earlier this year, Stewart popped back up on the show that catapulted his career as a part-time host on Mondays to steer it through this year's presidential election. Variety reporters asked the comedian on Emmys night whether he may extend his stay and his answer was left open-ended, to the excitement of many. 

“Well, my feeling is this election will never end. So why would I? How could I leave? I won’t be allowed to leave until the election, until we’re all ground to some sort of calcified nubs . . . We’re looking forward to it being awful.” he said.

The comedian's role in his return to the show was only supposed to be as supervisor behind the scenes as the election played out. But it's looking like Stewart's tenure may extend through 2025. Also, his answer could be a potential signal that leadership at Comedy Central and Paramount Global are content with the hybrid host approach to “The Daily Show,” and may want it to continue for the time being, Variety furthered in their reporting.

With Stewart at the helm, "The Daily Show" has snagged another Emmy a year after it won for the final season of Trevor Noah's tenure — the first time since Stewart left the show in 2015. The back-to-back win after a nearly two-decade-long winning streak may signal the show's popularity on the rise.

Since his return, Stewart has pulled consistent ratings and recently just scored the highest ratings of the show this year with a recent live post-presidential debate episode, The Wrap reported.

Alongside Stewart, his fellow co-hosts Dulcé Sloan, Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic and Jordan Klepper have also helped steer "The Daily Show" for the last several years. 

During the show's acceptance speech, Stewart said winning "made an old man very happy."

He continued to thank his co-hosts during the show's Emmys win: "To have the opportunity to work with this incredibly talented group … once a week, it’s really made my Mondays."

"The Daily Show" airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and streams on Paramount+.