Richard Thaler Urges Democrats to Rethink 2028 Nominee Selection

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 24

Richard Thaler argued Democrats should overhaul how they choose a 2028 presidential nominee, framing the process as a high-stakes hiring decision for an unusually important election.
The Nobel economist said organizations often make poor hiring choices because true job-performance tests are unavailable and unstructured interviews offer little predictive value.
He pointed to the NFL, where 10 of 32 teams changed coaches in the past year, as evidence that even rigorous selection processes often fail to identify effective leaders.
For Democrats, Thaler said the challenge is sharper because many contenders will lack national-election experience and none can be fully tested for the presidency before voters decide.

How can behavioral science predict a candidate's success under immense political pressure?

If science could pick better leaders, should we trust it more than our own votes?

What essential leadership traits might be lost in a purely data-driven selection process?