Coronavirus Luck Favors Biden, But Will Bernie Drop Out?
The race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination took a definitive turn on St. Patrick’s Day and a majority of now likely coronavirus-infected voters have made it clear they are ridin’ and dyin’ with Biden.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was the heavy favorite to win the March 17 primaries held in three states on Tuesday and managed to sweep Arizona, Florida, and Illinois — taking a massive lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the delegate count.
As predicted by the state primary odds, Biden dominated Sanders in all three states, winning the vote by double digits in the Arizona Primary 43.6% to 31.7%(with 88% reporting); Florida Primary 61.9% to 22.8%; and Illinois Primary 59.1% to 36%.
The Ohio Primary was also scheduled to be held on March 17, but the governor postponed all state elections after recommendations from the CDC strongly urging social distancing of at least six feet and no gatherings of 50 or more people to prevent further spread of COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Probably a good call considering some of the footage that came out of the three states voting on Tuesday. Here’s a look at voters in Illinois acting as if there isn’t a literal viral disease killing people all around the world.
Don't look now but Chicago voters in line for the #IllinoisPrimary are not practicing #SocialDistancing 👀
The primaries are essentially Petri dishes and will cause further spreading of the #coronavirus if all elections aren't postponed immediately 🗳️🚫 pic.twitter.com/SWG8jNmuMW
— Presidential Election Odds (@presidentodds) March 17, 2020
With a lesson of what not to do during the coronavirus pandemic out of the way, let’s take a look at the Democratic nominee odds following Biden’s convincing wins from Tuesday’s primaries.
2020 Democrat Nominee Betting Odds
From Bovada
- Joe Biden -1600
- Hillary Clinton +1000
- Bernie Sanders +2500
- Michelle Obama +5000
- Tulsi Gabbard +20000
Will Biden Be The Nominee?
Joe Biden now has 1132 delegates of the 1,991 needed to secure the Democratic nomination—more than a 300-delegate lead over Bernie Sanders, who sits at 817 delegates currently.
Biden’s nominee odds are now -1600, meaning $1600 bet on malarkey winning lays you $100 worth of Corn Pops. Based on the oddsmakers’ line, this gives the former VP a 94.12% chance of more additions to Biden’s best gaffes 2020.
Side note: Want to see who Biden’s favored to pick as VP? Check out the latest 2020 Democratic Vice President odds, which is becoming a two-woman race between two former 2020 candidates.
Betting on Bernie’s odds, +2500 or $100 to win $2500, is not a worthwhile wager since, at this point in the race, the Bovada Democrat nomination betting market believes Hillary Clinton’s odds, at +1000 or $100 to win $1000, have a better chance of paying out.
Today, people are dying in America from the coronavirus, and the country’s best hope to give everyone the health care they need is slowly falling out of the race.
The flame from feelin’ the Bern may be dying out, but odds from Bovada on a new political prop wager favor it staying lit just a little longer.
With “No” listed at -250 ($250 bet wins $100), Sen. Sanders has a 68% chance to stay in the race after 12:01 am ET on Friday, while “Yes” at +185 ($100 bet wins $185) gives him a 32% implied probability of dropping out before Friday, March 20.
Will Bernie Sanders Drop Out Of The Presidential Race Before March 20?
From Bovada
- Yes +185
- No -250
*Any wagers placed on the same day news is made public knowledge will be deemed void. Bookmanager’s decision is final.