Amidst a hail of criticism from Alabamians regarding his announced “no” vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) was suggested as a potential presidential candidate by world-famous data analyst and political prognosticator Nate Silver.

The projection, which was posted Wednesday, came as part of what essentially was a mock draft of potential Democratic 2020 candidates between Silver and three of his colleagues at fivethirtyeight.com. The goal was to compile a field of the 24 most likely nominees, with Jones being picked by Silver at pick number 21.

Coming off of 2016, when the Republican Party fielded 17 major candidates, Jones is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, Silver said.  In fact, the renowned analyst picked Jones in a previous mock draft this year, as well.

“[T]he guy I always take, Doug Jones,” Silver commented.However, while he might be near the bottom of the potential field of 24 to be the presidential nominee, Silver does think there is an even better chance you see Jones as the Democrats’ vice-presidential choice to balance out the ticket geographically and demographically.

“I think he’s more likely a VP than a top-of-the-ticket guy,” Silver explained.

“He is facing a tough 2020 re-election fight as a Democrat in Alabama,” one of the other analysts, Clare Malone, chimed in.

“Which might be a reason why he quits the Senate and runs for POTUS instead? He was pretty outspoken against Kavanaugh,” Silver responded. “Which doesn’t seem like a move you’d make if you’re focused on Alabama.”

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn