Stephen A. Smith says he’s getting ‘serious’ about a presidential run. Here’s what the polls say about his chances.

ESPN personality and former Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith is not ruling out a presidential run, he said Monday.

“Time to stop messing around. Life is great. Especially at ESPN/Disney. Hate the thought of being a politician. But sick of this mess. So I’m officially leaving all doors open,” Smith posted on social media.

Since the presidential election, Smith has talked extensively on his show about the flaws of the Democratic Party, building a cult following of people joking that he should run for president — only it’s not really a joke anymore.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve had no choice but to get more serious about it,” Smith said at a recent National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas, according to Barrett Media. “I’ve been approached by people on Capitol Hill. I’ve been approached by people who are elected officials in office, whether it’s governors or mayors or what have you. People have legitimately, seriously, asked me about it.

“I have no desire to be a politician, but I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to close that door. I’m going to keep my options open. I’m going to entertain the possibility. If it comes in late 2026, 2027, where I look at this country and think it’s an absolute mess and there’s legitimate reason to believe … that I indeed have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States. I am not going to rule it out.”

Smith, 57, has hosted a number of political guests on The Stephen A. Smith Show, including Sen. Cory Booker directly after his marathon filibuster, the first interview with Andrew Cuomo after he announced his run for mayor of New York City, and Gov. Josh Shapiro immediately after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. But Smith also earned criticism for not pushing back enough against guests like Candace Owens.

» READ MORE: Gov. Josh Shapiro talks Gaza, Trump, and the future of the Democratic Party with Stephen A. Smith

Still, after telling Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in March that he wasn’t interested in running for president because “it doesn’t pay enough” — Smith recently inked a $100 million deal with ESPN — he appears to have reconsidered.

“Folks are nuts, No. 1,” Smith told Fallon in March about a potential presidential run. “No. 2, the Democratic Party, they lost. They had a bad few months. We all know this. And even though there’s a lot of qualified Democrats all over the country from a local perspective — governors, mayors, stuff like that — there’s no real national voice. Enter moi. They’ve come to me.”

But the real question is: Would Smith even have a chance? No way, right? Well, it turns out …

Pablo Torre — for a recent episode of his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast — commissioned a Rasmussen Poll comparing Smith to other possible candidates in the 2028 presidential race, including potential Democratic primary opponents like former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, as well as current Vice President JD Vance, a potential opponent in a general election.

And based on the findings of the poll, they think Smith should run.

It would certainly be entertaining to watch him in a debate.