For the second time in a row, Bernie Sanders is running for president.

During the senator’s first Oval Office run in 2016, the Vermont independent made a name for himself as an unexpected yet serious Democratic primary challenger to establishment favorite Hillary Clinton. In the end, Clinton’s ascent to the nomination proved inevitable, and Sanders stepped aside. But this election cycle, the landscape is much different. With Clinton off the national stage and the political Left branding President Trump an "existential threat," some Democrats believe that Sanders has a legitimate shot at securing the party’s nomination.

That there’s no longer a single establishment favorite like Clinton doesn't necessarily mean that Sanders has an easier path to the nomination this time around though.

In reality, 2020 is shaping up to be more difficult than many of the Democratic candidates may have imagined. Among other successes, Trump can boast a strong economy with the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years. In addition, the commander in chief is poised to survive an impeachment fight that is almost sure to conclude with a Senate trial ending in acquittal.

And despite the concerns that many voters still have when it comes to the president and his character, millions of them remain committed to Trump. Current polls may give Democrats a small measure of comfort, but there is no certainty that Trump will easily be beaten on Election Day. In fact, it's the president’s unconventionality that resonates with so many in Middle America.

"Democratic insiders said they are rethinking Sanders’ bid for a few reasons: First, Warren has recently fallen in national and early state surveys. Second, Sanders has withstood the ups and downs of the primary, including a heart attack."



"‘I believe people should take him very seriously. He has a very good shot of winning Iowa, a very good shot of winning New Hampshire, and other than Joe Biden, the best shot of winning Nevada,’ said Dan Pfeiffer, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama."

However, Sanders still struggles to gain support from centrist Democrats.

"‘He can’t win the nomination,’ said Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left group Third Way, adding that Sanders’ uptick is simply him ‘bouncing around between his ceiling and his floor a little bit more than people had thought he would.’"

Still, as reported by Politico, some members of the Democratic establishment are giving him increasing consideration.

Sanders has two huge hurdles ahead of him.

First, he must win the nomination, which, according to steady poll numbers , is Joe Biden's to lose. Second, he must somehow become palatable enough that the general public would vote for his faraway dreams of socialism over the status quo of job growth, higher wages, and economic security.

The first seems unlikely — the latter, almost impossible.

Trump's boorish behavior may bother voters, but voters from flyover country would likely have an even harder time swallowing the far-left politics of Sanders and his ilk. While candidates such as Biden, Amy Klobuchar, and Pete Buttigieg all attempt to sell themselves as at least somewhat centrist Democrats, Sanders is unapologetic and proud to identify as a “democratic socialist.” But this is likely a bridge too far even for many of those dissatisfied with the current leadership.

On his campaign website , Sanders details his support for plans such as “Medicare for all,” the Green New Deal, “free” tuition at public college, tax increases, expanded gun control, investing trillions to combat homelessness, and even a jobs program so "everyone is guaranteed a stable job that pays a living wage." Not only would these policies saddle the country with an untold amount of debt, but they are also politically unattainable. Sanders's eccentric personality and utopian ideals may appeal to his devoted base of supporters, but his staying power in a Democratic field that has one main goal, to beat Trump, is questionable at best.

It’s true that some polling shows Sanders beating Trump in a general election, but the margin is razor-thin. Additionally, polls have repeatedly underestimated Trump’s electoral viability — just look at how pollsters failed to predict his victory in 2016.

Based on recent years and this cycle's caliber of presidential candidates, it appears the Democratic Party elite is desperate for the far-left to become the political norm. But all signs show even Democratic voters aren’t quite ready to descend into total extremism. So if Sanders somehow ends up the nominee, it almost certainly means that Trump will win his reelection.

Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.