Believe it or not, the 2028 presidential election isn’t all that far off, especially in this modern era of political fundraising and positioning.

On the Republican side, one might assume that Vice President JD Vance is a strong favorite to be the party’s nominee to succeed President Donald Trump. On the other side, the Democratic Party is in shambles, lacking a standard-bearer, a message, or policies that register on the common-sense meter.

That doesn’t mean that the jockeying hasn’t begun. On the West Coast, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has started distancing himself from progressive policy and ideology, publicly admitting that biological men competing against biological women in sports is unfair. Newsom has even started a podcast, on which he has featured right-wing commentators such as Charlie Kirk.{/div} Here in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro has begun to do the same thing. He recently appeared on Bill Maher’s HBO program to position himself as a moderate Democrat. Shapiro spoke with the host of “Real Time” on a variety of subjects, including the Democratic Party’s struggle with male voters, whether his Jewish heritage played a role in losing out to Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’s running mate, and other issues.

Shapiro and Newsom’s gradual slide rightward is part of a plan to separate themselves from Democrats’ left-wing faction in light of new polling that shows an historic decline for Democrats. According to CNN, the Democrats’ favorability rating has plummeted to just 29%, the lowest mark since 1992, and it represents a 20-point drop in just four years.

“Common sense is going to be what wins the election. Trump has already said, ‘I want a revolution of common sense.’ The fact that he can appropriate that term!” Maher marveled. “I’m not sure he’s the arbiter of common sense,” Shapiro replied. “That’s certainly one reason why he won the election,” Maher said. “People saw Democrats as less commonsensical.”

Maher is right: Trump won because his policies made sense. A thriving economy, reducing inflation, cutting spending, creating energy independence, securing the border, stopping pointless wars and restoring law and order. That message resonated. It won.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party decided to label straight, white, male voters as the definition of toxic masculinity. The question remains: How will Democrats win those voters back, after alienating them and speaking down to them? It’s not by nominating a Jasmine Crockett, J.B. Pritzker or even a Gavin Newsom. Shapiro is likely their best chance in 2028. But bridging the great American political divide will be easier said than done. According to Steve Kornacki of NBC News, the largest divide in the American electorate is between white, non-college-educated male voters and white, college-educated female voters. The data reflect a massive ideological gap that might not be correctable in one election cycle. Trump enjoys a +41 rating with non-college white males. He registers a -38 with college-educated white women. That’s a 79-point difference. The same pattern and trend exists between the two demographics when the personalities or topics are replaced. Swap out Trump and insert Vance, Elon Musk, DOGE, Ukraine or DEI policies and the results are almost identical.

Factor in Trump’s gains with the Latino community as well as the gains he made with African-American male voters, and the Democrats face an uphill battle, to say the least. They have fallen out of favor with common-sense, middleof- the-road, working-class men.

Maher asked Shapiro if Democrats have a problem courting male voters. Shapiro denied it. “I don’t think we do,” he said. “I think it’s about giving everybody equal opportunity.”

The evidence points the other way. The female vote is not enough to carry Democrats over the finish line. Neither is the support of coastal elites or fringe communities. They need more male voters to abandon the GOP — or overcome their voting apathy and come out and support Democrats.

If Shapiro’s appearance on Maher’s program was a preview of the case he’ll make nationally a few years from now, it doesn’t bode well for the Democratic Party.

(Nick Kayal is the Host of “Kayal & Company” weekday mornings on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT in Philadelphia.)