During the last two weeks, New York’s coronavirus response has been a total political disaster.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the nursing home.
Despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo coming under massive criticism for ordering COVID-19 positive patients to go back into their nursing homes and assisted living facilities, he’s actually rising up the Vegas election odds boards.
No, not for the Democratic nomination or the Presidency itself. He’s still at his all-time lows in both categories.
However, when it comes to VP betting odds, Cuomo – who as recently as yesterday was dead last at Bovada with +10000 odds to take the bottom half of the ticket – is now creeping up to the middle of the pack.
Due to presumptive nominee Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a female Vice President candidate, it was already notable that Cuomo broke onto the boards in the first place, as every other potential candidate – according to sportsbooks and bettors – is a woman.
Now that Cuomo is actually climbing on those boards in a significant way, it’s time to reassess the reality of what’s going on so you can make an informed wager.
2020 Presidential Election Odds
Via Bovada
2020 Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
- Kamala Harris +170
- Amy Klobuchar +400
- Elizabeth Warren +650
- Michelle Obama +750
- Stacey Abrams +900
- Catherine Cortez Masto +1200
- Gretchen Whitmer +1200
- Susan Rice +1600
- Val Demings +2200
- Hillary Clinton +3000
- Tammy Duckworth +3000
- Andrew Cuomo +4500
- Michelle Lujan Grisham +4500
- Tammy Baldwin +9000
- Tulsi Gabbard +9500
2020 Democratic Candidate Winner
- Joe Biden -700
- Hillary Clinton +750
- Andrew Cuomo +1800
- Michelle Obama +3300
2020 US Presidential Election Winner
- Donald Trump -120
- Joe Biden +130
- Hillary Clinton +2200
- Andrew Cuomo +4500
- Michelle Obama +5000
- Mike Pence +5000
- Nikki Haley +20000
In other political betting news, potential candidate Mark Cuban has gone silent.
While Cuban hinted at a possible Presidential run for 2020, he hasn’t been heard from since his April interview on Fox News Sunday where he famously claimed to be “keeping the door open” on a bid for the nation’s highest office:
In 2017, Cuban said that if he ever ran, it would be as a Republican, but most pundits in 2020 believe he’d run as an anti-Trump third-party spoiler, akin to what Libertarian Justin Amash is attempting to do.
Because books haven’t folded in their third-party betting odds yet (that won’t happen until a month or so out from the general election once these independent parties have determined their own nominees), bettors won’t find independent Cuban odds there.
Nevertheless, one sportsbook – and only one sportsbook – has actually placed Cuban on their Presidential odds boards. At BetOnline, Cuban has finally broken through, and while he’s at the bottom alongside the likes of Elizabeth Warren and Nikki Haley, he is actually on the court.
Odds To Win 2020 Presidential Election
- Donald Trump -140
- Joe Biden +125
- Hillary Clinton +1600
- Andrew Cuomo +5000
- Mike Pence +8000
- Michelle Obama +12500
- Elizabeth Warren +15000
- Mark Cuban +15000
- Nikki Haley +15000
The payout would be tremendous, but there is a caveat: Sports Illustrated reports that there’s one very compelling reason not to wager on the NBA owner and Shark Tank star to run for POTUS: His wife won’t let him.
When asked by Shark Tank co-star Barbara Corcoran if Tiffany Stewart would allow her husband to run for office, Stewart simply said “Absolutely not!”
So, for all the speculators out there panning for political gold, Cuomo is in, and Cuban is out.
Probably. Maybe. We think. For now.
As for Cuomo, though a bet on the NY politician could net a yuge payout given his +4500 odds to take the VP nomination or the US presidency outright, he’s still a longshot.
A month ago, in a debate with Trump on the national stage, Cuomo might have been able to hold his ground. But given the fact that he tried to cancel the NY primary and literally ordered coronavirus patients into the very facilities with the most vulnerable populations – a baffling decision which now accounts for nearly 10% of all US COVID-19 deaths! – there’s very little chance he could come away from that stage with anything but “blood on his hands.”
At this point, Cuomo might even be more toxic (literally!) than Joe Biden, and if his new nickname sticks, “Andrew Coma” would be eaten alive.
So if you want to eat, you should probably look elsewhere.
For our money – and our refined culinary tastes (Whataburger ain’t cheap, folks!) – Amy Klobuchar at +400 still seems like the best bet.
Front-runner Kamala Harris (+170) simply won’t help Biden flip the states he’d need to win, and VP candidates need to bring regional influence to the table. Biden’s already got California.
Klobuchar’s Minnesota, on the other hand, is a key purple state (Trump lost it by less than half a percentage point in 2016), as are several of its immediate neighbors.
If Biden can do the math, you won’t have to crunch the numbers too hard to see which female VP candidate gives him the best chance to do well in the general.
