by Alan Wooten
As the final hours approach before the expected announcement, the Democratic vice presidential nominee remains shrouded in mystery and is headed toward the Pennsylvania governorship.
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to unveil her candidacy before her battleground tour begins Tuesday in Philadelphia. While the campaign has warned that the starting point where it expects her to be next to its vice presidential candidate is not an indicator of who will be chosen, the leading candidate as of July 21 is Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and on Monday morning, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared to be a finalist.
Harris on Friday secured a sufficient number of delegates in the virtual roll call vote of the Democratic National Convention for the party nomination. No other candidates emerged. The process began Friday and ends Monday. The convention, where the official roll call vote will take place, will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Harris shot to the top of the charts when President Joe Biden two weeks ago posted on social media that he would not accept the nomination for re-election. Concerns about the nation’s 46th president’s health have grown exponentially following his June 27 debate appearance with Republican former President Donald Trump; two consecutive appearances from the Oval Office in which he never once looked at the camera because he stumbled slightly while reading from a prompter; and a handful of public appearances.
Walz was considered an unlikely candidate at the start of the process, while Shapiro was a favorite along with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker were generally in the next tier.
Most, if not all, of them were asked for verification information; the Harris campaign has not publicly released the list, and various reports indicate that all of them were asked for it. Cooper said last week it was not the right time to consider his candidacy and he withdrew his candidacy.
Professional bookmakers, who are in the business of getting even money for their profits, have seized the moment, placing side bets among a host of other election-related wagers. Shapiro is the consensus favorite as of Monday morning. Walz is reportedly being backed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
At BetOnline, Shapiro is listed at minus 275, Walz plus 215, Beshear plus 1,600 and Kelly plus 1,800.
When the odds are negative, this is the amount you need to place a bet to make $100. Placing $100 on a plus bet will give you the amount listed; for example, a $100 bet on a plus-500 will win you $500. The latter is less likely.
Oddschecker has Shapiro’s odds at -188, Walz at -420, Kelly at -1800 and Beshear at -3100.
In Polymarket, Shapiro is the choice over Walz 66-25 percent, with Kelly 5 percent and Beshear 3 percent. In $markets, it is Shapiro 64.9 percent, Walz 25.6 percent, Buttigieg 9 percent, Kelly 8.3 percent and Beshear 5.1 percent.
Similarly, PredictIT has Shapiro at 65 cents (betting “yes” gives 65 cents on the dollar), Walz at 28 cents, Kelly at 10 cents and Beshear at 5 cents.
– – –
Alan Wooten, currently editor-in-chief at Central Squarewas publisher, CEO, and editor. His work has won national and state awards in every decade since the 1980s. He is a proud graduate of Elon University and Farmville Central High in North Carolina.
Photo “Kamala Harris” by Kamala Harris. Photo by “Josh Shapiro” Josh Shapiro. Photo “Tim Walz” by Governor Tim Walz.
