Donald Trump won't win. Bernie Sanders won't, either. That's according to former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank.

Frank was greeted to a packed house on the night of Oct. 19 for “The Political Discourse” open forum event. From 5 to 7 p.m., people looking to talk politics filled the Claire T. Carney Library's Grand Reading Room wall to wall on Monday night. The event was organized as part of the Public Interest Law Fellowship Program.

Frank discussed a slew of topics, stemming from his book “Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage.” Of course, after last week’s first Democratic debate, the presidential race was the night’s hot topic. The crowd honed in particularly on presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

Frank very emphatically stated Trump can’t win.

"I think Trump loses to almost anybody one to one," he said. "...There's no chance he's going to get [the presidency]. None whatsoever."

Though the Republican Party has been tenaciously pursuing the presidency, Trump has a better chance at hindering his party than helping it in the long run, Frank said.

Conversely, though Frank views Sanders as a formidable and very favorable candidate, he predicts that Sanders will lose the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton. However, where Trump would likely degrade or sabotage the Republican nominee, Clinton would win against Sanders "in a way that [would not] leave bad feelings," Frank said.

Sanders has proven to be a progressive candidate with deep convictions concerning social inequality. However, in the democratic debate, “he showed strength where his core message [was] but couldn’t expand beyond it.”

Sanders seeks to bring about change by getting millions more to vote because it is non-voters that keep change from happening.

Incidentally, a tumultuous point in President Obama's time in office came with his second term when non-voters hindered him. He delivered on many of the promises he made in 2009 and 2010, but non-voters stalled his progress, Frank said.

A huge number of Sanders’ supporters are young Americans who carry much of the country’s economic burdens, including a disproportionately low minimum wage, record high tuition rates and a stagnant economy with little job opportunity. Additionally, he’s been much more forward about racial and social issues that have been escalating than most other presidential candidates.

“[Sanders] will continue to do well,” Frank said. “I don’t think he’ll get the majority… but if Hillary Clinton does, she’s close to him on a lot of issues and I hope that they won’t emulate the Tea Party and say ‘If I don’t get everything I want, I go home.’ I think that they will find that, between Hillary Clinton and the Republican Party, there’s a lot of things [Sanders and Clinton] want.”

Gun control, one of today’s most contentious topics, was also touched upon. Despite numerous public shootings, with more than 140 since the Newtown, Connecticut shooting in 2012, the reason no reform has been made is because the people that are against gun control are much more ardent than those who are for it, Frank said.

Frank shared anecdotes of his time in office, particularly while working alongside President Obama. In 2008, President Obama “overestimated his ability to work with Republicans,” Frank said.

Obama had sought to work in a “post-partisan manner,” but Republicans were not receptive to any Democratic attempts at bi-partisan task forces.

"I told one of his aides that he was giving me post-partisan depression," Frank said.

After the forum, Frank met with locals and signed copies of his book.

The Barney Frank Collection of donated congressional papers is currently held at UMass’ Claire T. Carney Library Archives. The papers were amassed during Frank’s career and deal with issues such as gay rights, financial and immigration reform, and military spending.

Frank made waves during his long career as a congressman.

The subject of the biography “Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman,” he presided as leading Democrat on the House of Financial Services Committee where he served as committee chairman from 2007 to 2011. Frank married his longtime partner and retired in 2013 after his term ended.

Frank will be returning to UMass to speak in Public Interest Law Fellowship classes.