Mark Halperin's Shock Prediction: Bernie 2028 Isn't Dead

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**Michael Smerconish** (0:05)
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**Michael Smerconish** (0:30)
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**SPEAKER_5** (1:04)
Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast for Independent Minds.

**Michael Smerconish** (1:09)
Recognizing that it's always a fluid situation, I nonetheless, early this morning, reached out for Mark Halperin and I said, Mark, would you provide me again with your most recent 8 for 28 ranking, meaning those most likely to secure the Democratic nomination for president in 2028 and he reminded me, hey, it's a constantly evolving situation. I get it. I had a particular reason for wanting the list. The list, just to refresh everybody's recollection, is Gavin Newsom in first position, followed by Josh Shapiro, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, John Ossoff, JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel.
And it was with an eye toward asking the question, which among the leading Democratic candidates for 2028 woke up most pleased with the election results from yesterday? Mark Halperin joins us every Wednesday in the third hour of the program. We really appreciate his appearances here. Mark, what thoughts might you have on that question? Among that group of eight, and I realize it's influx, who woke up happy with New York, happy with Utah, happy with the way things are going vis-à-vis Democratic primary contests?

**Mark Halperin** (2:27)
I think only Bernie Sanders, who I'm the only one who thinks he's going to run.
It's important not to overstate the meaning of the New York elections. New York is different than other places. But I say to those Democrats who say, don't read anything into it because we are the party of Spanberger, we're the party of moderates who are the face of the party.
Don't under-read into it. The Democratic Party would have nominated Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020 if the establishment hadn't mobilized in a dramatic way to, in the case of 2016, steal the nomination from him. And in the case of 2020, mobilize in a very tough, hard-nosed political way to stop him. So this is a party that has moved towards socialism, towards an anti-Israel, pro-single-payer health care, anti-law enforcement posture, anti-ice posture, for a decade now. And it is the mere image of Donald Trump, this is a group of people who aren't Democrats, who are in most, in many cases, like Sanders, Senator Sanders. And so, someone could say that someone like Josh Shapiro, Governor of Pennsylvania, could benefit, because here's an opening to stand up to the extreme progressive wing of the party that's got all the energy, and to win the support of the more moderate Democrats who are still a force in the party, and almost certainly a numeric majority on many issues. But to do that requires both political skill and political courage. And right now, the results yesterday show, as does the race in Maine with Graham Plattner, that the energy and power in the party is with the far left, and stopping the momentum of that would require, again, a lot of political skill and a lot of political courage. And I don't see the Democrat on my list of eight right now who's in a position to do that.

**Michael Smerconish** (4:32)
Some will say, well, okay, Mamdani went three for three and took out two incumbents. Like, that's pretty significant, but, you know, go further north and look at the 17th Congressional District where Kate Connolly, a West Point graduate, Army veteran deployed overseas six times, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, seems more in the Spanberger, Mikey Sherrill category. And that's where Democrats, when they get practical, are really going to go.

**Mark Halperin** (5:02)
Well, there are many examples. The election of Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey is another example along the lines of what you just said. But I point you to Graham Platner and I point you to the likely victory, I believe, of Dr. El-Sayed in Michigan in the Senate primary there. This is where the energy in the party is.