Former First Lady Michelle Obama may claim that she has no interest in politics, but her odds of becoming the running mate of former Vice President Joe Biden have skyrocketed this week.
The Washington Examiner reported that when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) endorsed Biden in a video call on Monday, the conversation quickly turned to who Biden would name as his Vice President. Gambling markets charted by Oddschecker.com said they then saw a major surge in support for Michelle to be named by Biden as his running mate.
“Michelle Obama has been the most backed person in the market, accounting for almost 32% of all bets,” the firm said.
Spokesman Pete Watt then went into further detail.
“Following Biden’s announcement that his VP would be female, plenty of names are being thrown into the ring, and the latest to attract a significant amount of attention is the former FLOTUS, Michelle Obama,” Watt explained. “Although her odds of +2500 [25-1] indicate that she remains an outsider with just an implied chance of 3.85%, you can expect to see that figure shoot up if she continues to receive bets at the same rate.”
Failed 2020 presidential candidates Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) had been considered frontrunners for the position of Biden’s running mate, but betting analysis showed that support for them dramatically declined as Michelle surged.
Michelle has already ruled out running for president, but many Democrats feel that a newly united Biden-Obama ticket could be the key to defeating Donald Trump. Michelle’s past comments about a disinterest in politics, however, indicate that getting her to join the ticket would be no easy task.
“Just between us, and the readers of this magazine — there’s zero chance,” Michelle told The National about the chances that she’d run for president. “There are so many ways to improve this country and build a better world, and I keep doing plenty of them, from working with young people to helping families lead healthier lives. But sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them. It’s just not for me.”
Biden himself has said that he would ask Michelle to be his running mate “in a heartbeat,” if he thought she’d accept the offer.
“I’d do that in a heartbeat if I’d think there’d be any chance of her doing it,” Biden said when asked about the possibility, according to Daily Mail.
Biden went on to point out that Michelle has previously said that she has no interest in politics.
“Michelle as I say has given at the office. She’s done a great deal and she is still doing a great deal for people,” Biden said, adding that being out of the White House is something Barack and Michelle Obama find “somewhat liberating after eight years.”
This piece originally appeared in Objectivist.co and is used by permission.
Read more at Objectivist.co:
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