Does Hillary Clinton's well-reviewed appearance before the House Select Committee on Benghazi make her quest for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination a sure thing?
Absolutely not, veteran pollster John Zogby, CEO of Zogby Analytics, and Craig Shirley, a presidential historian and principal at Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, said Monday on "Newsmax Prime" with J.D. Hayworth.
Watch
Newsmax TV on
DIRECTV Ch. 349,
DISH Ch. 223 and
Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get
Newsmax TV on your cable system –
Click Here Now
"No. No, no, no. She's had a very good 10 days, there's no question about it, and she's soared in those 10 days — [but] this is far from over," Zogby said.
"Democrats have this very powerful half a party of progressives. Let's go back to [Sen. Eugene] McCarthy and [Sen. George] McGovern and [Sen.] Ted Kennedy and [Sen.] Gary Hart and so on down the road and they have a voice in [Sen.] Bernie Sanders.
"Bernie's doing well in Iowa and he's doing very well in New Hampshire. This is not a lock yet. Stay tuned."
Shirley added that while Clinton can rest a bit easier, she's not out of the woods.
"She gave herself a little breathing room, but I agree with John, that in non-incumbent years, the Democratic Party never nominates its front-runner,” Shirley said.
"Only once in 1984 did they nominate the front-runner, Walter Mondale, and he almost lost to Gary Hart … In fact, I'll go so far to say is that Hillary will not be the nominee.”
Zogby is author of
"First Globals: Understanding, Managing, & Unleashing the Potential of Our Millennial Generation," written with Joan Snyder Kuhl and sold by Amazon Digital Services.
Shirley is the author of
"Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan," published by Thomas Nelson.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.