Humorist Will Rogers’ description of the Democratic Party, “I don’t belong to any organized party. I’m a Democrat,” has come true after President Joe Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday and appears to be influencing gambling markets.
The diagnosis has thrown Democrats into more chaos than usual, with some lawmakers publicly calling on the president to withdraw from the list of potential candidates and party leaders reportedly privately urging Biden to back out.
Quentin Fulks, deputy campaign manager for the Biden-Harris campaign, sought to quell rumors that Biden was dropping out of the race, saying Thursday that “Biden is and will remain the Democratic nominee.”
Betting markets in the United States, where bookmakers cannot legally interfere, don’t appear to believe the campaign’s claims, with money moving in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris leading the nomination race after the Democratic National Convention in August.
“The situation appears to be only getting worse since Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, there has been a significant shift in the market in favor of Democrat Kamala Harris,” William Kejani, political betting analyst at UK bookmaker Star Sports, said in a press release.
The betting company said the odds of Harris becoming party leader had dropped from +450 to +110 after the president announced his second COVID-19 case.
Harris is also ahead of Biden in Star Sports’ general election odds, coming in second at +450, with Biden’s general election odds stretching to +700.
As of July 18, the odds for the Democratic nomination are as follows:
RNC 2024 Live Updates:Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump to attend Republican National Convention tonight
Possible 2024 Democratic presidential nomination
Star Sports
- Kamala Harris: +110
- Joe Biden: +125
- Michelle Obama: +1400
- Gavin Newsom: +1600
- Gretchen Whitmer: +2800
Bovada
- Kamala Harris: -190
- Joe Biden: +260
- Michelle Obama: +1200
- Gavin Newsom: +2000
- Gretchen Whitmer: +2500
Betting Online
- Kamala Harris: -240
- Joe Biden: +240
- Michelle Obama: +1600
- Gavin Newsom: +2000
- Gretchen Whitmer: +2000
Odds Checker
- Kamala Harris: -154
- Joe Biden: +340
- Michelle Obama: +1800
- Gavin Newsom: +2700
- Gretchen Whitmer: +2900
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Contributors: Brianne Vannentiel
