Next US President Odds: Kamala Harris new Betting Favourite over Donald Trump

They say a month is an awful long time in politics and that is certainly the case when it comes to what has been going on over in the States.

Kamala Harris is now the betting favourite to win November’s election and that means for the first time in over a year, a Democrat is seen as more likely to win the White House than a Republican. We take you through the latest twists and turns in our Next US President Odds update…

*You can check out our full US President Winner Odds betting market over at betfred.com

It wasn’t even two months ago when Joe Biden looked old and incapable in the first Presidential debate of this cycle and the Democrats went into meltdown.

It was the first time that anyone within the party publicly acknowledged what many had privately feared, that he wasn’t the right person to take on Donald Trump in November. They knew they needed to act fast and save the campaign, to do so meant changing the ticket. Doing such a thing however would mean getting President Biden to step-aside, a feat that was not going to be easy.

Step forward arguably the most important politician the Democrats have in their ranks. It was Nancy Pelosi who took point in telling the incumbent that he should pass on the torch.

Eventually, President Biden succumbed to the inevitable and announced that he would not seek re-election and endorsed his Vice President. Quickly the big names in the party fell in line and instead of a contentious convention, Kamala Harris was quickly installed at the top of the ticket and despite early fears, that move seems to have been justified.

The Vice President has come across as assured in her public speaking engagements and has offered a breath of fresh air in what was an extremely toxic race for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Donations have flowed in and suddenly the Democratic war chest is looking healthy again. This cannot be overstated because unlike here in the UK, you need to have an awful lot of money to win an election, the battles are often over the airwaves and those advertising spots do not come cheap.

We’ve also seen JD Vance and Tim Walz being picked as the Vice Presidential nominees in recent weeks. The former has been catapulted into the limelight in recent years and was one of the favourites for the position. He is seen as a hard-line right-winger and someone who will lead the charge. Former President Trump did not decide to look to balance the ticket and went for someone who is a clone of himself.

The latter was a bit more of a surprising choice, as the Governor of Minnesota was not seen among the initial front-runners for the role. Upon the announcement however, feedback was good across all spectrums of the Democratic caucus with both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joe Manchin, two people who couldn’t be more diverse in their views, both believing him to be a good addition to the ticket.

*For all our Politics Odds, check out betfred.com

Polling data has also been positive for the Harris campaign in recent weeks as she’s enjoyed a boost from stepping into the limelight. Nikki Haley said during the Republican Presidential campaign that "Most Americans do not want a rematch between Biden and Trump. The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the party that wins this election."

It is rare to think of the former US Ambassador to the United Nations as saying anything worthwhile but she may well have been on to something here as the change in numbers since Biden stepped aside have been stark.

Just a month ago, it was Donald Trump who led by three-to-four points on average in national polls and in the tight battleground races such as Pennsylvania, his lead was even bigger. Now the national polling is within the margin of error and over the weekend, Harris was up in the Keystone State.

Momentum is key in politics and once the ball is rolling, if it is with you, you have to ride it and if it is against you then you have to fight to turn it around. For the first time in over a year, the positive news is all coming out of the Democrats and that is why we make Kamala Harris, the 4/5 favourite to win the election.

The polls are moving slowly and steadily in her direction and now it is up to Donald Trump to see if he can get back on the front foot and arrest the tide. Punters though are clearly growing more confident that the Vice President has what it takes to win enough of the toss-up states to return her to the White House, this time though, in the top job.

You can check out all of our latest Politics Betting Tips here right on Betfred Insights.