Stephen A. Smith has been debating sports for decades, but there is a growing faction of Democrat strategists hoping he can bring his verbal chops to their cause in future elections, if not run for office.
"It's great to have someone from outside of politics making compelling arguments for the Democratic Party," Democrat strategist Jared Leopold told The Hill. "I think we've seen that a lot of people, that the majority of swing voters treat politics not as the entree but as a side course, and sports are definitely an entry point."
Some have urged Smith to run for president someday, a call he has dismissed. But Smith's debating has drifted deep into the political realm in recent years, including public support for Democrat ideals and endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Democrats are looking for someone who will forcefully argue our points and not back down," Leopold said. "And it hasn't been in politics, but Stephen A. Smith has made a career of doing just that."
Expressing regret for supporting Harris' decisive loss, Smith has pivoted to calling the election a "referendum on the Democratic Party," a reality that has Smith rising in the eyes of strategists looking for a new messenger.
"Every person in America with a platform who can communicate the cost that the Trump administration is making us all pay, come on in, the water is fine," Democrat strategist Joe Zepecki told The Hill. "Welcome to the party."
Smith reportedly is a registered independent.
"I'm half-joking, but I kind of mean it," Smith told "The View" of running for president.
"If you came to me and you told me I had a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America, I would definitely consider it."
Democrats might just need a strong voice to lift their party as Trump did for Republicans, according to Democrat strategist Antjuan Seawright.
"If there's one thing that we have learned from the previous elections is that different people get the information from different places, whether the information is accurate or not," he told The Hill.
"And then different people process information different ways, and so I think it's certainly not unusual for an outside voice to garner inside attention."
Going from sports to politics is not impossible, he added.
"It's important to note that sports and politics have a lot of similarities," he said. "Contact being one of them, competition being the other, and the fact that in sports you either win or you learn, and that same thing about [politics] you don't always lose either when they learn.
"And so I think there's some similarities, but I think everything in its proper place is important for people to note."
Smith is not ruling out being the standard-bearer for Democrats.
"I'm not in the news because I'm here," Smith said recently, raising his hand above his head.
"I'm in the news because the Democratic Party is here," he added, lowering his hand.
Smith said he hopes to make Democrats "uncomfortable" enough to "get your act together."
"If not that, holler at me in three years; I might have changed my mind by then," he said.