After the party’s dismal showing in November, it’s clear that Democrats have a pretty shallow bench of potential candidates to choose from ahead of the 2028 presidential campaign.

That’s why a number of unconventional choices have emerged in recent months — including ESPN host Stephen A. Smith.

And while the broadcaster said he isn’t ruling anything out, he recently expressed his displeasure with the Democratic Party and said there would need to be some fundamental changes if he were to consider throwing his hat in the ring.

As The Hill reported:

“If you were to run for president, though, would it be as a Democrat?” Tapper asked.

“I’m a registered independent … who leans left,” Smith replied. “I’m fiscally conservative when it comes to my money. I’m socially liberal. I’m liberal when it comes to social issues pretty much across the board.”

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Smith has ramped up the idea about launching a presidential bid and has often expressed criticism of the current Democratic Party.

“If I had to run it would be as a Democrat, but I’m not happy with the Democratic Party. So the Democratic Party as presently constructed,” Smith said. “It would pretty much need to be purged in order for me to assume that I would want to be associated with them.”

Here’s what else he has had to say on the matter:

The thought of Smith seeking the Democratic nomination has fueled a range of social media comments recently:

The Daily Mail reported on a poll last month showing that Smith is currently performing pretty well against other likely 2028 candidates:

According to a shock new poll that surveyed more than 1,000 likely American voters in the next Presidential election, Smith garnered more than 20 percent of the vote in head-to-head primaries against top Democrats vying to sit in the Oval Office in a few years.

The poll was revealed on ‘Pablo Torre Finds Out’, with Smith losing to Kamala Harris 45 percent to 24. The scores are much closer when Smith faces both U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Against Newsom, Smith trails by three percentage points, and is behind Ocasio-Cortez by four, with a margin of error of four points.

Maybe Smith’s most impressive result is being the Democratic candidate and trailing current Vice President JD Vance 38 to 34 percent.

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‘Based on what I see in these numbers, he should run,’ said Mark Mitchell, Rasmussen’s head pollster, who conducted the measure.

Here’s a full clip of his recent CNN interview:

 

What do you think?

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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