Polls give us a statistical idea of how likely it is a candidate will win his or her party’s nomination and the presidency. But polls never give us much of an idea of who will be chosen as vice presidential nominees. But the betting markets can. So, who are bettors putting their money on to be picked as the vice presidential nominees? (Odds via electionbettingodds.com, as of 4:30 p.m. June 30)
Republicans
- Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions: 21 percent, -3.3 percent change in last week (endorsed Trump on Feb. 28)
- Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: 16.1 percent, -5.4 percent (endorsed Trump on May 11)
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: 14 percent, +7.3 (one of two former 2016 candidates that endorsed Trump before he became the presumptive GOP nominee)
- Ohio Gov. John Kasich: 13.6 percent, +4 percent (still hasn’t endorsed Trump since he dropped out on May 4)
- Tenn. Sen. Bob Corker: 5.2 percent, +3.4 percent
- Former 2016 GOP candidate Ben Carson: 4.5 percent, +0.3 percent (endorsed Trump on March 11)
- Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst: 3.5 percent, -1.8 percent
- New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez: 2.2 percent, -1.4 percent
- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: 2.0 percent, -0.2 percent
- Florida Sen. Marco Rubio: 1.1 percent, +0.8 percent (says he does “not want to be considered for vice president”)
- Former Va. Sen. Jim Webb: 0.8 percent, new to rankings (Webb ran as a moderate candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination)
- Other – 16 percent, -3.2 percent (perhaps former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or Ohio Sen. Rob Portman?)
Dropped from rankings: Mike Huckabee
Largest drop in last week: Gingrich, -5.4 percent
Largest gain: Christie, +7.3 percent
Democrats
- Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine: 35 percent, -3 percent (endorsed Clinton before her campaign started)
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 18 percent, +0.5 percent in last week (endorsed Clinton on June 9)
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro: 10.8 percent, -3.7 percent (said “That’s not going to happen” when asked if he would accept the vice presidential nomination)
- Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez: 6.6 percent, -1.4 percent
- Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown: 6.6 percent, -1.9 percent (endorsed Clinton in October 2015)
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: 3.6 percent, +0.1 percent
- Minnesota Sen. Al Franken: 2.7 percent, +0.5 percent (endorsed Clinton before her campaign started)
- Former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh: 2.5 percent, +1 percent
- New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker: 1.8 percent, -3.2 percent (endorsed Clinton in April 2015)
- Virginia Sen. Mark Warner: 1.5 percent, no change (endorsed Clinton before her campaign started)
- Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick: 1.3 percent, +1.3 percent
- Other: 9.6 percent, +9.6 percent
Largest drop in last week: Castro, -3.7 percent
Largest gain: Other, +9.6 percent
Bettors also give Hillary Clinton a 73.3 percent chance of being the next president. Therefore, Kaine is the person most likely to be the next vice president, but his odds are currently about 26 percent.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
