(NewsNation) — Chris Stirewalt believes California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are the winners from election night.
Speaking during NewsNation’s election night special Tuesday, “The Hill on Sunday” anchor suggested that the litany of wins for the Democratic Party sets the stage for a 2028 showdown between two of the party’s most visible members.
“We see Zohran Mamdani is about to come out. He is not the creation of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but he is a representation. He is an extension of a movement (of which) she was an early avatar,” Stirewalt said.
“I tell you, two visions for the Democratic Party, one in California, with Gavin Newsom, one in New York, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I think it is the beginning of a 2028 derby between those two. I think they represent the beginning of the very difficult fight that is going to take place within the Democratic Party about which way they’re going to go.”
Stirewalt also suggested the GOP was hurt by President Trump not being on the ballot.
“He would outperform his polls again, because these voters who don’t typically participate that come in, would be there, and they would nudge those numbers up,” Stirewalt said.
“But we see exactly the opposite happening here in lower turnout elections, that those lower propensity working class voters aren’t there for Republicans,” he added.
Stirewalt rebuked the notion Republicans were as affected by the shutdown as Democrats may think, but echoed the president’s assertion that his absence hurt the GOP.
“There’s truth in what he says, and we just acknowledged the part about him not being on the ballot,” Stirewalt said.