Political pundits and sportsbooks that offer Presidential election odds have been speculating on which candidate Joe Biden will choose to be his Vice-Presidential running mate.
It has long been taken for granted that Biden would choose a woman as his VP, and the betting odds feature two African American women at the top of the board.
Kamala Harris is the current front runner, with +110 odds placed on her chances of being selected.
Vice President nominee odds are provided by Bovada Sportsbook.
2020 Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
- Kamala Harris +110
- Susan Rice +450
- Val Demings +600
- Elizabeth Warren +1000
- Keisha Lance Bottoms +1400
- Tammy Duckworth +2000
- Michelle Obama +2200
- Michelle Lujan Grisham +2500
- Amy Klobuchar +2800
- Stacey Abrams +3500
- Gretchen Whitmer +5000
- Andrew Cuomo +10000
- Catherine Cortez Masto +10000
- Hillary Clinton +10000
- Tammy Baldwin +10000
- Tulsi Gabbard +10000
On Sunday, Business Insider reported that Joe Biden has narrowed his selections down to four possibilities and that his campaign can begin the vetting process.
Included in the list of four is Kamala Harris, as well as former US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and US House Representative from Florida, Val Demings.
A surprise addition to the final grouping of VP candidates is Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Just a few days ago, Mayor Bottoms was completely off the board, but today, she finds herself the fifth most likely candidate with +1400 odds.
Mayor Bottoms has recently been thrust into national prominence following the shooting of an African American male by an Atlanta police officer last Friday night.
The shooting – largely hailed as a “good shoot” since the alleged victim is on camera drawing a stolen weapon on police officers as they pursued him for suspected DUI and resisting arrest – came at a time when civil unrest regarding police brutality toward African Americans was already at a fever pitch and served to reignite the protests.
Biden has remained sympathetic toward the Black Lives Matter protests and has offered words of encouragement to their cause, while also lambasting President Trump for his message of divisiveness.
Although current popular sentiment, as well as the betting odds at political sportsbooks, would suggest a decline in support for Trump’s reelection campaign, the Donald has words for Biden that suggest just the opposite.
Either way, Biden’s campaign is poised to select a woman of African American heritage. Could his selection serve to place enough distance between himself and President Trump to secure the Oval Office in November?
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that the selection of a female VP would likely increase his appeal to female voters following a damning sexual harassment allegation that was leveled against him two months ago.
Biden’s campaign has also mentioned that these four potential VPs are not necessarily the final four candidates and that further individuals could be considered for the nomination.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren is still on the board with the fourth-best odds of becoming Biden’s VP choice.
Warren and Trump have fiercely attacked each other for years now, and it would seem that The Donald has a competitive edge on her at the moment.
Although Warren has previously claimed that she is of Native American descent, Trump has punched a hole in that theory that caused her to issue a backtracking statement (and DNA test).
Selecting Warren could be a huge political mistake for Biden and would be a risky potential nominee to place a wager on.
Only time will tell as to when Biden will select his Vice-Presidential running mate, but now that he is the presumptive DNC nominee, it could happen any day now.
With Trump gearing up his campaign with a rally already planned for Tulsa on June 20, Biden’s selection could serve to grab some of his headlines.