John Hickenlooper has joined the crowded arena of Democrat presidential hopefuls. The businessman and former Colorado governor appears to be a centrist. But as the WSJ asks, is there room in the Democratic presidential primaries for a nominee who isn’t a socialist in name or agenda?

Bernie, Not Crazy and Extreme?

In Chicago last Sunday, writes James Freeman (“Best of the Web”), Bernie Sanders made the case that he is no longer viewed as a Marxist kook. The Chicago Tribune reports on a Sanders speech at Navy Pier:

Three years ago, they thought we were kind of crazy and extreme, not the case anymore …

We are not only going to defeat (President Donald) Trump, we are going to transform the United States of America.

Mr. Sanders has certainly made extremism cool among Democratic presidential candidates, continues Mr. Freeman.

All of his fellow senators seeking the party’s nomination have joined him in co-sponsoring the Green New Deal and its promise of government health care and the end of traditional energy sources.

They have also voted for an abortion policy so expansive that it allows adults to decide the fate of children even when they are no longer in the womb.

Will Democratic activists be able to forgive Mr. Hickenlooper for his successful business career? David Leonhardt suggests in the New York Times that there is a market for what Mr. Hickenlooper is selling:

…Gallup found late last year that most Democratic voters — by a margin of 54 percent to 41 percent — would rather their party move to the center than to the left. (Most Republicans, by contrast, want their party to continue moving right.) In another recent poll, by Monmouth, most Democratic voters said they would prefer a nominee likely to win the general election to one who shared their views on most issues.

Read more here.