Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is now the third favorite to be Donald Trump's vice presidential pick, according to several prominent bookies having seen her odds improve significantly over the past few months.
PaddyPower and Betfair both have the odds of Gabbard being Trump's running mate at 15/2 or 11.8 percent, while William Hill has her at 6/1 or 14.3 percent.
Gabbard, a former Democratic House member and 2020 presidential candidate, has become increasingly popular in right-wing circles since quitting her party in October 2022, branding them an "elitist cabal of warmongers." She has since become a regular on conservative-leaning outlets such as Fox News and has spoken at a number of Conservative Political Action Conference events.
Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential candidate following a string of GOP primary victories on March 12, likely setting up a rerun of the 2020 contest against Joe Biden. This has inevitably heightened speculation over his running mate, with Trump having fallen out badly with his former vice president, Mike Pence, who is refusing to endorse him.
As of 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, Senator Tim Scott was the favorite to be Trump's running mate, with all three bookmakers checked for this piece. PaddyPower and Betfair both put him on 5/1 (16.7 percent) whilst William Hill gave odds of 9/2 (18.2 percent).
Scott was followed for all three bookies by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who PaddyPower and Betfair gave odds of 11/2 (15.4 percent) against 5/1 (16.7 percent) for William Hill.
Gabbard was followed by New York Representative Elise Stefanik and Ben Carson, formerly Trump's Secretary of Housing, for all three bookmakers.
On February 27, Polymarket, which claims to be the "world's largest prediction market" for betting, had Scott as the favorite to be Trump's vice presidential pick at 19 percent, followed by Noem with 16 percent, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy with 15 percent and Stefanik on 13 percent.
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election campaign for comment by email.
Speaking to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on February 20, Trump said that Scott, Noem, Ramaswamy, Gabbard, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Florida Representative Bryon Donalds were all on his vice president shortlist.
Asked specifically whether the six candidates were "on your shortlist," he replied: "They are...honestly, all of those people are good. They're all good, they're all solid."
Trump also said Texas Governor Greg Abbott was "absolutely" on his shortlist during a conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity, labeling the immigration hardliner a "spectacular man" who "would be somebody that I would very much consider."
In an interview with Newsmax host Greg Kelly last week, Trump remained vague about his potential vice president picks, saying he had ruled out "some people" who he didn't believe had "behaved properly" but has a couple of people in mind that "you may know very well."
The presumptive Republican candidate added: "We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party, and they'll do a terrific job, I think, but certainly I have people that I wouldn't want as a vice president."
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James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more
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