Who will Biden pick as VP? Odds surging for two women ahead of expected announcement

[UPDATE: Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris to be his running mate.]

Two women have seen their odds for becoming Joe Biden’s running mate improve in the past week, according to US-Bookies.com

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and former national security adviser Susan Rice have seen their odds surge over the last few days. Whitmer’s odds of becoming Biden’s vice presidential pick were 16/1 on Aug. 6 and have improved to 4/1 on Aug. 11, according to a US-Bookies.com news release. The 4/1 odds means that out of 5 possible outcomes, odds are there will be 4 of one outcome and 1 of another. In this case, that means bookmakers think she has a 20% chance of getting the nod.

Rice’s odds improved from 9/4 to 2/1, meaning people think she has a 33.33% percent chance.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California remains the overall favorite with 1/1 odds, putting her at a 50% chance of getting picked.

“Kamala Harris, who at one point looked to have won the race with some way to go, could possibly get some shocking news according to the betting markets,” Alex Donohue, political betting analyst, said. “Though Harris is still the 1/1 favorite, the odds suggest that Rice and Whitmer are seriously in contention at the last minute, and it’s at least a three-horse race in the final moments before the big announcement.”

Biden committed in March to picking a woman as his running mate and is expected to announce who he’s chosen before next week’s Democratic National Convention, The Associated Press reported.

Biden has already interviewed the finalists, The New York Times reported. In contention are Harris, Rice, Whitmer, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Biden is also considering Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Reps. Val Demings of Florida and Karen Bass of California.

Duckworth has 18/1 odds and Bass has 25/1 odds of becoming Biden’s pick.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who was also in contention for Biden’s pick, took herself out of the running in June amid ongoing national protests against police brutality, including in her state of Minnesota, CNN reported.

“This is a historic moment, and America must seize on this moment. And I truly believe as, I actually told the vice president last night when I called him, that I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket,” Klobuchar told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell.

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President Trump’s odds of winning the election also improved from 7/4 on Aug. 6 to 5/4 while Biden’s odds dipped from 4/9 to 8/11, according to US-Bookies.

“Things were looking great for Biden as his polling numbers were looking great in some key states, but the betting markets have once again moved in favor of The President,” Donohue said. “While the change in odds can be due to a number of factors, it makes one thing clear — this race is far from over.”