Joe Biden has reemerged as bookmakers’ favorite to challenge President Trump for the White House in November, returning to the front of the field after spending much of the second half of 2019 trailing Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren.
Although the Trump campaign says it sees little difference between any of the candidates competing for the Democratic nomination, insiders admit that Biden could pose the stiffest challenge in the crucial Rust Belt battlegrounds.
Odds released by gaming site SportsBetting.ag give Biden a 7-4 chance of winning the nomination race, ahead of left-wingers Bernie Sanders at 3-1 and Warren at 8-1. Pete Buttigieg is at 8-1, while the former mayor of New York and late entrant to the race, Michael Bloomberg, is placed at 10-1.
The former vice president spent the first half of last year as the front-runner, according to bookmakers, before being overtaken by Harris, the California senator, amid mounting Republican attacks about Biden’s health, record in office, and family. However, after strong debate performances, Harris’s campaign went into free fall and the top spot was claimed by Warren on Aug. 1.
Overall, bookies see Trump as the clear favorite at 10-11, with Biden trailing at 5-1.
Trump strategists insist all his potential opponents are flawed and are being dragged to the left by a divisive primary season. One Trump confidant, however, said that Biden was the most formidable opponent among the Democrats.
“Every time he opens his mouth you wonder what he is going to say. His age is against him and his health is a question mark,” he said. “But look at the rest of the candidates and it is impossible to imagine voters going for a socialist like Sanders, say, or someone with as little experience as Buttigieg ahead of Trump.”
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